Ecosystem services governance: A cross-realm lever for sustainability transformation

The leverage points perspective is used increasingly in sustainability transformation research. Scholars have proposed three realms of leverage for the sustainability research agenda: human-environment interactions; institutional dynamics, and sustainability-related knowledge creation and use. However, studies aiming to better understand the role of cross-realm levers, which create parallel change in human-nature interactions, institutions, and knowledge production and use, remain scarce. To address this research gap, we provide an Ecosystem Services Governance (hereafter, ESGov11To avoid confusion with other established uses of the acronym ESG, such as Earth System Governance (Biermann et al. 2010), we use ESGov to refer specifically to Ecosystem Services Governance throughout this paper.) lens to conceptually and empirically investigate the potential cross-realm lever role of ESGov for sustainability transformations. Through theoretical and empirical analyses we: 1) identify the key features within the three sustainability transformation realms and analyze how ESGov can shape and influence them; 2) test the potential for ESGov to be a cross-realm lever for sustainability transformation using a case study from Agua Blanca (Ecuador); 3) navigate intra-realm dynamics, identifying features from diverse realms that may simultaneously be fostered by ESGov; and, 4) ultimately, contribute to the transformation, ecosystem services, and governance literatures by highlighting the enabling mechanisms within ESGov that can facilitate cross-realm sustainability transformation interventions. This study reveals that ESGov, when configured to embrace relational thinking, collaborative governance, and inclusive knowledge integration, can effectively serve as a cross-realm lever. Ultimately, we advocate for a shift from Ecosystem Services to ESGov framework as a means to catalyze cross-realm interventions, advancing sustainability through a nuanced understanding and designing of the dynamic interplay between society and the environment.