Integrating Ecosystem Services (E.S.) in spatial planning: a literature review

Integration of ES in spatial planning constitutes a critical issue in the context of establishing resilient and sustainable policies. In this paper, a literature review was performed, to evaluate the integration of ES in spatial planning practices through institutional and governmental planning documents. The results indicated that ES have been gradually capturing the interest of the planning scientific community. However, the number of publications concerned with this topic is still very limited and with no clear methodology on the issue of integrating the ES concept in spatial planning. This paper suggests that the integration methodology to be built should focus more on urban environments, and with the intention to achieve integration within areas defined by ecosystem boundaries rather than administrative ones.