Challenges and opportunities of ecosystem service integration into land use planning in West Africa – an implementation framework

Despite the benefit accrued from integrating ecosystem service (ES) concepts into modern land use planning (LUP) practices, approaches to mainstream the concept in West Africa remains a challenge. The objective of this paper is to develop a framework for integrating ESs into the LUP. We achieved this by using content analysis to search for ES keywords in land use planning policies and act (LUPPA) and to identify existing approaches for mainstreaming the ES approach using Ghana and Nigeria as case-study countries. Following, the SWOT analysis was used to highlight key strength and opportunities of the existing LUPPA, and the benefits the ES concept could offer to increase these strength and opportunities while uncovering the threats to the concepts application in the study location. We suggest the adoption of a transdisciplinary planning approach which integrates strategic environmental assessment and participatory planning and geographic information systems (GIS) approaches, and human resource capacity training of all relevant actors and stakeholders in the planning process on the principles and overall benefits of the ES concept as the way forward. Our framework was developed on the basis of these recommendations for adoption.EDITED BY Davide Geneletti