In order to develop a substantive communication process and support the development of sustainable land use management strategies it is important to make scientific language more understandable. For example, Pidgeon and Fisch hoff (2011) highlight the crucial role of scientists in making the complex climate elated research understandable to policymakers and the public. The investigation illustrated that in land use management practice it is impossible, or at least very difficult, for some stakeholders or plan- ning experts to work directly with ecosystem services. This is not because they have no interest in this approach and the related gen- eral considerations, but because of present they are not specifically trained in or familiar with the ecosystem services approach as a foundation for planning processes. The results demonstrate that the use of social categories and impacts leads to a better understand- ing (see also Vanclay and Esteves, 2011). The stakeholders tend to rely heavily on social units as their guiding framework. It is com- mon for stakeholders to think in terms of social units because they identify with specific social impacts that are of relevance to them in relation to any action. The application of a social impact analysis within the sphere of planning presented here creates possibilities to integrate the ecosystem services approach into sustainable plan- ning processes. In our case study, the stakeholder-driven process, in particular, contributed to an overall picture of the community affected and provided a broad background for categorizing important ecosystem services and social impacts (see also Esteves et al., 2012). The stakeholder dialogue raised awareness with regard to the need for adaptive strategies that would lead to sustainable development and human well-being in the community, as well as an understanding of what type of impact human interventions may have on natural systems.