1. What are Ecosystem Services: Understanding complexity by Arild Vatn Department of Environment and Development, Norwegian University of Life Sciences Lecture at the international workshop: “Making Sense of Ecosystem Services: Ecosocial and Institutional Perspectives” Koli, Finland, August 25-27

2. What are Ecosystens Services NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES The structure of the presentation The perspective of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Complexity, social systems and ecosystem services

3. What are Ecosystens Services NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES 1. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment The MEA classifies sets of ecosystem service functions Supporting (e.g., nutrient cycling, soil formation) Provisioning (e.g.,food, fuel) Regulating (e.g., climate regulation, disease regulation) Cultural (e.g., aesthetics, educational)

4. What are Ecosystens Services NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES 1. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (cont.) Ecosystem services and human well being

5. What are Ecosystens Services NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES 2. Complexity: Social and ecological Nested systems –Different scales (time; space) –Different processes operate at different scales  Multiple representations Lack of (complete) predictability –Risk –Uncertainty –Ignorance (radical uncertainty)

6. What are Ecosystens Services NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES Determinism – simple/compli- cated – outcomes all known Ignorance – complexity – uncertainty/ignorance Strong deter- minism Risk - weak determinism Open ignorance Closed ignorance Irreducible ignorance Reducible ignorance Personal ignorance – education Common ignorance – research ChaosNovelty (geno- typic change After Faber et al. 1996 2. Complexity: Social and ecological (cont.) Complexity and knowledge

7. What are Ecosystens Services NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES Vulnerability Adaptability Resilience 2. Complexity: Social and ecological (cont.) Systems complexity Attractor basin System’s position ?

8. What are Ecosystens Services NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES Evolution of species Biogeochemical cycles –The interactions between biota, chemical and geological processes –Life has created its own conditions – e.g., the composition of the atmosphere –The rivet – popper analogy: redundancy, resilience and vulnerability Interconnectedness The entropy laws 2. Complexity: Social and ecological (cont.) Natural systems complexity

9. What are Ecosystens Services NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES Institutions bring order to a complex external world (Wittgenstein: The limits of my language means the limits to my world). Still multiple representations Social complexity –Different representations – e.g., different perspectives and disciplines –Different values and value systems –Different interests –Different rationalities – e.g., individual vs. social rationality Interest vs. value vs. data conflicts Anthropocentric vs. non-anthropocentric values Complex behavior – individual and group level 2. Complexity: Social and ecological (cont.) Social systems complexity