In the period from 2019 to 2024, MEI has conducted a project entitled “Understanding the Use
of Ecosystem Services Concepts in Environmental Policy”. MEI has worked for the project in
collaboration with Department of Human Ecology of Rutgers University.
This project proposes to examine the emergence of environmental policies and decision-making based on ES, grounded in theoretical and methodological tools.
This project will explore the ways different potential ES (such as carbon sequestration, water quality regulation, or biological pest control, among others) have been defined and measured in Southeast Asian national and local policies and projects; evaluate how valuation and marketization of different ES has progressed in Asia, and the causes for this; and finally, assess the role of participation in policymaking to determine if ES concepts are inclusive or exclusive of multiple stakeholders.
One of the research questions is “How are ES defined, measured, and prioritized by different actors in Southeast Asia?” This research question is aimed at understanding diffusion of ideas, technologies, and tools, and how networks of different actors engage with ES.
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