Prioritizing sustainable development goals and linking them to ecosystem services: A global expert's knowledge evaluation

The implementation of strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is frequently hindered by potential trade-offs between priorities for either environmental protection or human well-being. However, ecosystem services (ES)-based solutions can offer possible co-benefits for SDGs implementation that are often overlooked or underexploited. In this study, we cover this gap and investigate how experts from different countries value the SDGs and relate them with ES. A total of 66 countries participated to the survey, and answers were grouped into three macro-regions: Asia; Europe, North America, and Oceania (ENO); Latin America, Caribbean and Africa (LA). Results show that the most prioritized SDGs in the three macro-regions are usually those related to essential material needs and environmental conditions, such as SDG2 (Zero Hunger), SDG1 (No Poverty), and SDG6 (Clean Water). At a global scale, the number of prioritized synergies between SDGs and ES largely exceeded trade-offs. The highest amount of synergies was observed for SDG1 (No Poverty), mainly with SDG2, SDG3 (Good Health), SDG5 (Gender Equality), and SDG8 (Economic Growth). Other major synergies among SDGs include SDG14-15 (Life below water - Life on land), SDG5-10 (Gender Equity - Reduced Inequality), and SDG1-2 (No poverty - Zero Hunger). At a global scale, SDG15, SDG13, SDG14, and SDG6 were closely related to ES like climate regulation, freshwater, food, water purification, biodiversity, and education. SDG11 (Sustainable Cities) and SDG3 were also relevant in Asia and in LA, respectively. Overall, this study shows the potential to couple future policies that can implement SDGs' strategies while adopting ES-based solutions in different regions of the world.