Assessing Impacts of Payments for Watershed Services on Sustainability in Coupled Human and Natural Systems

Asbjornsen, Heidi; Mayer, Alex; Jones, Kelly W.; Selfa, Theresa; Sáenz, Leonardo; Kolka, Randall K.; Halvorsen, Kathleen E.

doi:10.1093/biosci/biv051

Cited by 40 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…In the discipline of system dynamics, the system boundaries are determined relative to behavior(s) of interest, and a system is defined as the structural components and causal connections that lead to the behavior(s). Very frequently, coupled systems are defined by geographical, political, administrative, and management boundaries, e.g., continental, national, subnational, regional, provincial, state, county, township, village, nature reserve, protected area (Asbjornsen et al 2015, Dong and Sherman 2015, Rammer and Seidl 2015, Boone and Lesorogol 2016, Giuliani et al 2016, Iwamura et al 2016, Noel and Cai 2017, Shindler et al 2017, Tesfatsion et al 2017, which may include both social and natural boundaries, e.g., in the example of Wolong Nature Reserve as an administrative unit. Such a definition has some advantages.…”

Section: Identification Of System Boundariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration across a metacoupled world

Liu¹

2017

E&S

202

170

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ABSTRACT. Human-nature interactions are complex and have important implications for achieving sustainable development goals and addressing other global challenges. Although numerous studies have explored human-nature (or human-environment) interactions and generated useful insights, they are largely disintegrated. Because conceptual frameworks are the foundation of quantitative and qualitative integration, many have been proposed but focus mainly on human-nature interactions within a specific system. To reflect human-nature interactions between distant coupled systems, the framework of telecoupling (socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances) has been developed. However, no framework has explicitly integrated human-nature interactions between adjacent coupled systems, let alone within a coupled system as well as between adjacent and distant coupled systems simultaneously. To fill such an important gap, in this paper I present an integrated framework of metacoupling: human-nature interactions within a system (intracoupling), between distant systems (telecoupling), and between adjacent systems (pericoupling). A metacoupled system is a set of two or more coupled systems that interact internally as well as nearby and far away, facilitated by agents affected by various causes with various effects. By differentiating and integrating intracoupling, pericoupling, and telecoupling, the metacoupling framework advances a systems perspective on global sustainability and human well-being. The framework can help uncover hidden systemic connections such as spillovers and feedbacks that may not be apparent when focusing on a particular system. To demonstrate the utility of the metacoupling framework, I illustrate its application to human-nature interactions within a global flagship nature reserve as well as between the reserve and the rest of the world. The illustration suggests that the framework has the potential to help holistically understand and integrate human-nature interactions from local to global scales, over time, and among organizational levels. Finally, I offer suggestions for operationalizing the metacoupling framework and discuss the need for new policy, governance, and management for a sustainable future across the metacoupled world.

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Section: Identification Of System Boundariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration across a metacoupled world

Liu¹

2017

E&S

202

170

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“…Ecosystem services, the goods and services that ecosystems provide for human well-being (Alcamo et al 2003;Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (Program) 2005), are increasingly used as a framework worldwide for the purposes of ecological restoration and conservation (Wei et al 2017), watershed management (Falkenmark et al 2004), and sustainable development policy making (Asbjornsen et al 2015). Among the myriad of services provided by ecosystems, hydrological services such as water purification and water supply are considered the key to realizing other ecological services such as drinking water, recreation, and human health (Brauman et al 2007;Keeler et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecohydrological processes and ecosystem services in the Anthropocene: a review

2017

Self Cite

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The framework for ecosystem services has been increasingly used in integrated watershed ecosystem management practices that involve scientists, engineers, managers, and policy makers. The objective of this review is to explore the intimate connections between ecohydrological processes and water-related ecosystem services in human-dominated ecosystems in the Anthropocene. We synthesize current literature to illustrate the importance of understanding the ecohydrological processes for accurately quantifying ecosystem services under different environmental and socioeconomic settings and scales. Our synthesis focuses on managed ecosystems that are dominated by humans and explores how ecological processes affect the tradeoffs and synergies of multiple ecosystem services. We identify research gaps in studying ecological processes mainly including energy, carbon, water, and nutrient balances to better assess and quantify ecosystem services that are critical for sustaining natural resources for future generations. To better assess ecosystem services, future ecohydrological studies need to better account for the scaling effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors exerted on evapotranspiration and other water supply and demand processes. Future studies should focus on the bidirectional interactions between hydrological functions and services and human actions to solve real world problems such as water shortages, ecological degradation, and climate change adaptation. Review

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“…Despite growing recognition of the interconnection of human and natural systems, social and ecological monitoring of conservation projects most often occurs separately (Asbjornsen et al . ), and social monitoring is particularly scarce (Hicks et al . ; McKinnon et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Deciding on which indicators are good measures of project success and suitable candidates for monitoring has become one of the principal, and often most challenging, tasks of applied conservation science. There is a growing body of literature on the selection of indicators for conservation and sustainable development projects (e.g., Santana-Medina et al 2013;Asbjornsen et al 2015;Hicks et al 2016). Lessons include the importance of choosing indicators for which a detectable change can be expected over the life of a project (Tulloch et al 2011), and the importance of selecting indicators that resonate with the intended audience (Higgins & Zimmerling 2013;Biedenweg et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fuzzy Models to Inform Social and Environmental Indicator Selection for Conservation Impact Monitoring

Game

Bremer

Calvache

et al. 2017

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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Conservation projects increasingly aim to deliver both environmental and social benefits. To monitor the success of these projects, it is important to pick indicators for which there is a reasonable expectation of change as a result of the project, and which resonate with project stakeholders. Results chains are widely used in conservation to describe the hypothesized pathways of causal linkages between conservation interventions and desired outcomes. We illustrate how, with limited additional information, results chains can be turned into fuzzy models of social-ecological systems, and how these models can be used to explore the predicted social and environmental impacts of conservation actions. These predictions can then be compared with the interests of stakeholders in order to identify good indicators of project success. We illustrate this approach by using it to select indicators for a water fund, an increasingly popular and multiobjective conservation strategy.

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Assessing Impacts of Payments for Watershed Services on Sustainability in Coupled Human and Natural Systems

Cited by 40 publications

References 54 publications

Integration across a metacoupled world

Integration across a metacoupled world

Ecohydrological processes and ecosystem services in the Anthropocene: a review

Fuzzy Models to Inform Social and Environmental Indicator Selection for Conservation Impact Monitoring

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