Tools for the equitable and sustainable use of ecosystem resources: Parts 1 and 2

Recognition over the past century of the benefits provided by land and landscapes has seen a net shift in balance from the private interests of landowners towards broader beneficiaries across society, with post-apartheid constitutional and legislative change in South Africa providing a striking illustration of this transition. Planning and conservation laws, subsidies and the development of common law in the UK and the EU also provide evidence of the societal transition, but also of the conceptual shortfall in what precisely constitutes socially beneficial uses of land. A pragmatic,transparent yet robust framework is required to guide more equitable and sustainable decision-making in statute and common law, subsidy system and public policy. Such a model of the relative private and public benefits derived from different land uses is developed using a risk-based approach founded on ecosystem-services, validated using analysis of real land use practices. The model proved to be a helpful basis for orienting different types of land use against a grid of private and public benefits, serving as a semi-quantitative decision-support tool providing a comprehensive and transparent basis for discussion, stakeholder dialogue and the innovation of optimally beneficial uses of land. It also helped to deliver greater public benefit, promoting participative decision-making and the testing of options through a simple graphical interface. Development of this model is informed by, and in turn has informed, consideration of environmental and human development practices in South Africa, but it may also help inform better integrated solutions for priority environmental management challenges such as the EU Water Framework Directive oppotunities for 'paying for ecosystem services' markets and improved targeting of subsidies under the EU Common Agricultural Policy.