Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services

29 Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services CHAPTER 2 Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services ANNA HEIKKINEN, JERE NIEMINEN, JOHANNA KUJALA, HANNELE MÄKELÄ, ARI JOKINEN & OUTI LEHTONEN Takeaways for Leading Change This chapter highlights the importance of nature in urban environments. It discusses how future leaders in business, government and other organisations can foster openness and incorporate nature into the process of generating urban ecosystem services through stakeholder engagement. As an open and participatory process, stakeholder engagement highlights uncertainty and ambiguity, which are, and should be, embraced as part of the process. Stakeholder engagement can serve as a starting point for more open and participatory dialogue between various human and non-human stakeholders. Stakeholder engagement as an open process can also offer room for collaborative processes where surprises and other unexpected elements are recognised as openings for continuous experimentations and new opportunities. Such processes are especially required in solving wicked global problems and sustainability challenges that require recognising the complexity of the obstacles involved and accepting varied understandings of what are perceived as desired outcomes. 30 Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services S ustainable development is generally defined as development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development [WCED], 1987, p. 8). In cities, the major challenge is how to ensure and balance economic, ecological, and social sustainability dimensions now and in the future (Finco & Nijkamp, 2001). This challenge has become increasingly pressing given that more of the global population now lives in urban than rural areas and the rate of urbanisation is estimated to increase rapidly in the next three decades (United Nations, 2014). Ever-growing cities face many sustainability-related threats, such as climate change, overpopulation and growth at the expense of terrestrial and marine capacity, while at the same time cities are a significant source of these problems. Cities create over 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions and consume two-thirds of the world’s energy (C40 Cities, 2018). However, cities can also provide opportunities and be a source for developing solutions to sustainability challenges. Sustainable development has become a dominant policy paradigm and a strategic goal for several cities (Finco & Nijkamp, 2001; Jokinen, Leino, Bäcklund, & Laine, 2018). Urbanisation and the expansive growth of cities highlight the significance of urban nature to city dwellers. As cities grow larger and denser, natural areas located within cities are increasingly required to provide numerous lifesupporting and life-enhancing opportunities to urban citizens (Fischer & Eastwood, 2016; Standish, Hobbs, & Miller, 2013). These opportunities can be conceptualised as ecosystem services, defined as “the benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems […] produced by interactions within the ecosystem” (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005, p. 3). Urban ecosystems such as parks, recreational forests, urban gardens, green roofs The aim of this chapter is to shed light on stakeholder engagement in the generation of urban ecosystem services. We position nature as a stakeholder and focus on how humans and nature as stakeholders interact and participate in the generation of stormwater systems. 31 Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services and conserved natural habitats provide, among other benefits, fresh air and water, nutrition, health, recreation, and well-being for city dwellers. The aim of this chapter is to shed light on stakeholder engagement in the generation of urban ecosystem services. Specifically, we position nature as a stakeholder and focus on how humans and nature as stakeholders interact and participate in the generation of ecological stormwater systems. Recent discussions have highlighted that the remaining blocks of natural habitat are insufficient to keep cities liveable. Instead, attention has turned to the active generation of urban ecosystems and the interaction between humans and the natural environment in this generation (Fischer & Eastwood, 2016). Public parks in cities are a well-known example of urban ecosystems; these are open greenspaces used primarily for recreation and accessible to all urban residents. They are regarded as offering important ecosystem services for improving the quality of urban life and the health of city-dwellers. A more recent example of urban ecosystems is the generation of vegetated green roofs that complement other green networks in cities. Besides biodiversity benefits, green roofs gather and retain rainwater and help alleviate flooding problems, and thus enhance urban sustainability. Future opportunities for rooftop biodiversity and ecosystem services are extensive, as today’s urban footprint includes more than 20% of roof cover (Sutton, 2015). Green roofs are also a prime example of stakeholder engagement in the process of generating urban ecosystem services. The green roof industry provides standardised diverse solutions for old and new buildings, which are implemented and maintained in collaboration with stakeholders. To sum up, we are witnessing a new era where the idea of urban nature has changed from being a refuge separate from the urban structure to a crucial component of the built environment. “Re-naturing” cities involves understanding urban ecosystems as part of climate adaptation and the systemic interrelations between ecology and society (Duvall, Lennon, & Scott, 2018). Consequently, the networks governing urban green areas are undergoing fundamental change. While city planners and officials have traditionally been in charge of green area management, citizens and business organisations are now increasingly involved in these processes (Jokinen, Asikainen, & Willman, 2017; Whiteman et al., 2011). Accordingly, urban ecosystem services are currently generated in 32 Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services collaboration and cooperation with various stakeholders in the public and private sectors and civil society. This chapter contributes to the discussion on the future leadership of urban environments by examining how business organisations, the public sector, local communities and nature participate in the generation of urban ecosystem services through stakeholder engagement. The following conclusions are drawn. First, urban ecosystems, such as integrated stormwater systems, provide various benefits to city dwellers through socio-ecological processes. Second, the generation of urban nature is an inherently complex process that includes unforeseen and unexpected elements. The interactive and reciprocal human and non-human processes should be acknowledged and appreciated. In these processes, neither the participants, processes nor the outcomes can be foreseen or predefined; rather, indeterminacy, surprise, conflicts, and experiments are embraced. Third, wicked global problems and sustainability challenges require recognition of the complexity of the issues at hand, as well as acceptance of varied understandings of what are perceived as desired outcomes. The chapter proceeds as follows. First, we utilise environmental politics and stakeholder management literatures to present recent discussions on urban ecosystem services and develop a conceptual understanding of stakeholder engagement in the context of these services. Next, we illustrate stakeholder engagement through the case of urban stormwater systems. Finally, we discuss how humans and nature as stakeholders can engage in the generation of urban ecosystem services, and how the elements of surprise and uncertainty can be acknowledged in these processes. Urban Ecosystem Services and Stakeholder Engagement Urban ecosystem services represent an important approach to enhancing urban sustainability. They are crucial for improving both the natural environments and the quality of life in cities (Gómez-Baggethun et al., 2013). The concept of ecosystem services proposes that the functionality 33 Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services of ecosystems provides goods and benefits for humans that are realised when someone actively or passively requires, demands, or uses them (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). These goods and benefits can include both material and non-material elements; material elements include food, water and nutrient cycling, and non-material elements incorporate benefits such as opportunities for recreation and pedagogy (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). Urban ecosystem services are distinct from ecosystem services elsewhere as they are intertwined with many non-ecological urban elements, including physical infrastructure, technology, social practices, and cultural contexts (Andersson et al., 2014; Kremer et al., 2016). While urban ecosystems alone are not able to maintain life in cities, they are needed increasingly to complement rural ecosystems (Andersson et al., 2014). Recent research on urban ecosystems has suggested that while the crucial natural resources and processes in urban environments need to be preserved, urban ecosystems need also be actively restored and generated. The urban context also highlights the socio-ecological interactions that take place and shape urban ecosystems (Fischer & Eastwood, 2016). Stakeholder engagement has become an important approach for examining and managing sustainability issues as it provides the means to understand the complex and pluralistic interests, relationships and interaction within and among various organisations (Freeman, Harrison, Wicks, Parmar, & De Colle, 2010; Greenwood, 2007; Kujala & Sachs, forthcoming). Stakeholder engagement refers to practices organisations undertake to involve stakeholders in a positive manner in their activities (Greenwood, 2007, p. 315), or to the embeddedness of stakeholders’ objectives, expectations, actor relations and actions in the leadership of an organisation (Maak, 2007). Stakeholder engagement can also be seen as an inclusive decision-making process that promotes equity, enhances local decision-making and builds social capital (Mathur, Price & Austin, 2008). The traditional definition of a stakeholder refers to “any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization’s objectives” (Freeman, 1984, p. 46). The issue-based stakeholder view, however, takes a wider perspective by emphasising the issues that affect the well-being of and relationships among stakeholders. To understand 34 Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services the generation of urban ecosystems, the centre of attention should shift from a single company or organisation to the issue at hand (i.e., to the collaborative generation of urban ecosystem services). The issue-focused perspective highlights that the goal is to approach and share understandings regarding the generation of urban ecosystem services instead of protecting the interests of any particular organisation (Roloff, 2008). While most stakeholder research has included only human entities as stakeholders, an increasing number of studies argue that nature can also take on stakeholder status (e.g. Driscoll & Starik, 2004; Laine, 2010). The traditional stakeholder approach posits that as nature cannot voice claims or expectations. It cannot act as a stakeholder and can only be represented by other actors, such as individuals and environmental organisations (Laine, 2010). However, Driscoll and Starik (2004) argue that nature can be regarded as a stakeholder in the same way as the local community and the public. Stakeholder engagement processes can deliver many positive outcomes, ranging from knowledge creation to social learning, but they can also act as important means of enhancing sustainable development (Mathur et al., 2008). According to Freeman, Kujala, Sachs, and Stutz (2017), integrative stakeholder engagement consists of (1) examining stakeholder relations, (2) communicating with stakeholders, and (3) learning with stakeholders. Kujala, Lehtimäki and Myllykangas (2016) emphasise the importance of joint interests, the ability to collaborate and trust as important elements of stakeholder engagement. Moreover, understanding the relationship dynamics and actor identities is paramount in the analysis of stakeholder engagement processes (Lehtimäki & Kujala, 2017). Heikkinen et al. (2019) suggest the ideas of radical democracy are useful for considering stakeholder engagement in complex socio-ecological settings such as urban ecosystem services. Radical democracy allows, first, for the consideration of both human and non-human stakeholders as participants in open processes, and second, for the appreciation of complexity, difference, and disagreement in the engagement process. They further argue “an open approach to various ways of communicating and expressing views is necessary when the aim is to include both human and non-human participants” (Heikkinen et al., 2019, p. 123). The challenges that remain are how to recognise and balance the various stakeholder 35 Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services interests inherent in the socio-ecological processes and how to generate open processes with the potential to enhance sustainable development. For example, the motivations of business organisations for engaging with environmental issues include interests such as competitiveness, legitimation, and ecological responsibility (Bansal & Roth, 2000), while citizens may look for recreational use and improved well-being. In brief, the open process perspective on stakeholder engagement posits the processes, participants, or outcomes of participation cannot and should not be predefined (Brown & Dillard, 2013). In the generation of ecosystem services, this means there might be unexpected elements active in the process (Lindenmayer, Likens, Krebs, & Hobbs, 2010). Stakeholder Engagement in Stormwater Systems To illustrate stakeholder engagement in the generation of urban ecosystem services, we have explored integrated stormwater systems. We collected empirical data from six stormwater systems in three large cities in Finland: Helsinki, Vantaa and Tampere. The empirical data included field observation material, document analysis, and indoor and field interviews conducted with 14 consultants and city officials. The data were collected from 2015–2017. Integrated stormwater systems represent both a novel solution and a policy transformation in urban ecosystem service generation. Stormwater systems aim to handle rainwater and melt water (i.e. runoff water) by delaying, filtering and purifying the water. Integrated stormwater systems refer to the integration of stormwater practices into the urban landscape by using, for example, ponds and creeks as alternatives to piped solutions in surface runoff water management. The integrated systems combine water and vegetation in various ways and increase multifunctional land use in urban areas. These systems are gaining support in cities; they increase climate resilience and flood protection, improve runoff water quality, and at the same time provide many other ecosystem services such as recreational use, biodiversity conservation, scientific research, and aesthetical landscaping (Cettner, Ashley, Viklander, & Nilsson, 2013; Hoang & Fenner, 2016). 36 Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services We focused on four key stakeholders of the integrated stormwater systems, namely business organisations, the public sector, the local community, and nature. Here, business organisations were mostly consulting companies which typically draw up the plans and designs for the development and maintenance of stormwater systems. Our cases were initiated by the public sector, including the city officials, civil servants, and researchers working for the city governments. Local community refers to the people living in or near the stormwater systems, as well as the citizen groups and associations who are the main users or beneficiaries of the systems. Nature as a stakeholder denotes the water and vegetation generated in the stormwater systems, including their diverse and evolving entanglements. In stakeholder engagement, we focused on the actor identities (Lehtimäki & Kujala, 2017), the nature of stakeholder collaboration (Kujala et al., 2016), and the elements of uncertainty and surprise (Lindenmayer et al., 2010), as presented in Table 1. BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS PUBLIC SECTOR LOCAL COMMUNITY NATURE ACTOR IDENTITY •Developer and producer of stormwater systems •The initiator, coordinator, financier, and supervisor •Users, contributors, and co-dwellers of the stormwater sites •Contributor to the ecological functionality of stormwater systems COLLABORATION •Contractual collaboration with the public sector •Contractual collaboration with business organisations •Formal communication with the local community •Formal and spontaneous communication with the public sector and business organisations •Participation through appearance, manifestation and functionalities ELEMENTS OF UNEXPECTEDNESS •Uncertainty related to new products •Uncertainty and unpredictability of ecological processes •Uncertainty related to local community involvement and use of the area •Uncertainty and unpredictability of ecological processes •Uncertainty related to the development of the housing area •Uncertainty related to the appearance of the stormwater site •Surprises through unforeseen ecological processes TABLE 1. Stakeholder engagement in stormwater systems 37 Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services Business organisations are the designers and producers of stormwater systems, typically in collaboration with the public sector. This collaboration is also a vital opportunity for business organisations to develop and test new products and services. In these processes, it is typical that business organisations seek to integrate project profitability with knowledge development. Businesses consider the development of expertise on stormwater systems as a means to become pioneers and front-runners in sustainability and in creating sustainable business opportunities. Business organisations mainly have contractual collaboration with the public sector. This collaboration is often centred on innovative and enthusiastic individuals who are motivated to engage in the development of new products. Business organisations also collaborate with other organisations both domestically and internationally when developing their products. Since stormwater systems are not widely established structures, they involve many elements of unexpectedness, uncertainty and surprise. For business organisations, this means dealing with obstacles and the constant need to research and develop their products. The generation of stormwater systems is framed by public interest. The public sector – city officials, civil servants, and researchers working for the city government – is the initiator of these processes. The public sector is also responsible for coordinating, financing, and supervising the generation of the stormwater systems, and it enables new research and experiments to emerge in the field. In addition to contract-based collaboration with business organisations, the public sector engages with the local community through formal hearing processes that allow people to voice their interests. Local people can also give informal feedback to the public sector. The public sector collaborates with local and international peers, such as other cities and research networks. Much like the business organisations it also faces some elements of uncertainty and surprise. These uncertainties can relate to the involvement of local communities as well as the unpredictability of the ecological elements related to stormwater systems. The local community, including the people living in the area and citizen groups and associations identified as users and co-dwellers, contributes to both the design and the development of stormwater systems through their 44 Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives Stakeholder Engagement in the Generation of Urban Ecosystem Services Mathur, V. N., Price, A. D., & Austin, S. (2008). Conceptualizing stakeholder engagement in the context of sustainability and its assessment. 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