Ecosystem Services in Canadian City Planning

Sustainability plans offer insights into cities’ efforts to integrate sustainability but little on Ecosystem Services (ES) in sustainability and climate change planning. Integrating the Ecosystem Services Approach (ESA) in planning can help decision-makers understand the trade-offs between development scenarios and the human-nature relationship. This study surveyed Canada’s largest cities where threats to ES due to urbanization is the greatest. The survey explored the ES concept, frameworks, methods, applications in climate change planning and ES governance. It found that most cities recognize ES but had limited knowledge of ES frameworks and had challenges in ES valuation and mapping. The ESA was most promising in climate change planning to support climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. The governance of ES appears to be partly responsible for its low and inconsistent uptake in planning. This study therefore recommends five policy and planning opportunities to help build climate resilient and sustainable cities.
 