Guidance for the rapid assessment of cultural ecosystem services

Abstract

PREFACE Cultural ecosystem services (CES) and the benefits they provide have long been overlooked in decision making, yet they contribute greatly to human wellbeing. GRACE has been developed to help decision makers to recognise and understand cultural ecosystem services and benefits, and to take these into account in their decisions about how to use and manage nature. GRACE is primarily aimed at conservation and development NGOs working with communities, but should also prove useful to government agencies and businesses. It is a guide for those wanting to know what aspects of nature people value, how these contribute to their wellbeing, and how changes to ecosystems might affect the delivery of these services and wellbeing derived from them. GRACE is based on years of collective experience, incorporates ideas and practices from the field and literature, and has been written as a simple practical guide for field practitioners. We hope that GRACE will be useful wherever a relatively rapid and reliable assessment of CES is needed and will help improve decision-making processes.