Paper long abstract:

Ecosystem Services approach enables the application of a comprehensive perspective in dealing with natural capital by using the metaphor of nature as a stock - within last decade it has been increasingly applied in biodiversity research and policy

This paper presents results of a study conducted within the project LINKAGE that aims at enhancing protection and rational governance of natural resources in Norway and Poland. Here, we present the Polish case which, due to social and historical determinants, is challenging in respect of implementation of ecosystem services governance. We particularly focus on examining the scope to which ecosystem services concept is reflected in legislative and policy documents, and what are reasons for application (or - not) the ecosystem service concept in the legislation.

Analysis comprised of 46 policy documents concerning environment and conservation in Poland. For the analysis we used CICES categorisation of ecosystem services as a base. All texts were coded using Nvivo software. Moreover, in order to comprehend reasons of the specific presence of ES in the Polish legislation individual in-depth interviews (IDI) with key informants were used for data information collection.

The paper shows results of quantitative view of ecosystem services presence in Polish policy documents based on Nvivo analysis and qualitative exploration based on interviews. Results of the analysis shows that the application of the ecosystem services approach is limited in the Polish environmental policy. Constraints for the ES concept application are presented as well as possible future development in this respect.