Sammendrag
We examined the contribution of natural capital and social capital through the notion of cultural ecosystem services
to shaping human well-being in the fishing community of Røst in the Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway.
Through ethnographic observations, in-depth interviews, and a participatory scenarioworkshopwe develop four
narratives centering on the links of nature and ecosystem services. Benefits derived from ecosystem services are
fundamental building blocks in the local vision of ‘the good life’ and emerge from a combination of satisfied preferences
and struggle, hardships, and capabilities inflicted by a demanding environment and challenging work
conditions. Beyond a certain level of meeting basic needs and provisioning of essential public services, simplicity
in life and local control over resources and surroundings was preferred over a multitude of other opportunities
and services.Well-being was strongly linked to maintenance of identity through traditional practices for harvesting
of natural resources, nurturing of skills, social cohesion, and acting meaningfully in one's local environment.
In a relational perspective, cultural ecosystem services are constituted and given meaning through interaction
with nature. The main policy implication is that contributions of natural and social capital to well-being proved
to be hard to meaningfully separate.
© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Ecosystem services
Cultural values
Well-being
The good life Lofoten
Norway
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