Around the globe, previously isolated localities are rapidly forming connections over increasing spatial extents, through the flow of ecosystem services (ES). With the intensification of human demands, systematic research on ES over distances is urgently needed. We apply a new integrated framework of telecoupling (ie socioeconomic and environmental interactions between different places) to analyze the causes, effects, agents, and dynamics of ES flows. We focus on the world's largest water-transfer project - China's South-North Water Transfer Project - as a basis for discussion about the broad utility of the telecoupling framework and important implications for effective governance of ES across telecoupled human and natural systems. Integration through the use of the telecoupling framework holds promise for creating sustainable solutions and avoiding unintended negative effects across multiple systems in an interconnected world. This paper is the first in an occasional series: Ecosystem Services in China.
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