Contribution of integrated ecosystem services to urban planning tools: Can it be more functional for the sustainability of ecosystems?

Abstract

The biodiversity of ecosystems and their services (ecosystem services - ESs) are declining worldwide due to decisions regarding land-use/land-cover (LULC). As a result, global risks related to climate change are exacerbating as these areas are needed to adapt to climate change and mitigate these risks. The integration of ESs into spatial decision-making is seen as an opportunity to ensure their sustainability. Despite the scientific and practical studies on this issue, it is stated that more studies are needed to clarify how ESs will be used in spatial decision-making. The proposed approach as Integrated ESs (IESs), which builds on the LULC assessment, has the potential to develop ESs-based spatial decision-making by enabling comprehensive approaches to be made. This paper aims to evaluate the results of IESs assessment incorporated with scenario analysis in the context of the integration of ESs into spatial decision-making, to discuss the contributions that this integration can make to the sustainability of ESs in light of these results and to provide straightforward suggestions on how ESs can be linked to the spatial planning tools in Istanbul. The findings of the research prove that ESs in many contexts are relevant to various stages of spatial planning and a spatial decision-making approach that incorporates ES knowledge can contribute to ensuring the sustainability of ESs and achieving sustainable development.