Cultural Ecosystem Services in Protected Areas: Understanding Bundles, Trade‐Offs, and Synergies

Ament, Judith M.; Moore, Christine; Herbst, Marna; Cumming, Graeme S.

doi:10.1111/conl.12283

Cited by 107 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(88 reference statements)

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“…Besides charismatic wildlife-viewing, many tourists may also prefer visiting protected areas for their cultural, recreational value 29 , and visit places which allow for activities, such as hiking or biking, which are normally forbidden in parks where charismatic, dangerous animals are present 21 . Other studies show that, when looking at the content of pictures shared across different types of nature-based destinations, a variety of cultural uses, including recreation and aesthetic appreciation, are the most common subject among pictures 30 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media reveal that charismatic species are not the main attractor of ecotourists to sub-Saharan protected areas

Hausmann

Toivonen

Tenkanen

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Charismatic megafauna are arguably considered the primary attractor of ecotourists to sub-Saharan African protected areas. However, the lack of visitation data across the whole continent has thus far prevented the investigation of whether charismatic species are indeed a key attractor of ecotourists to protected areas. Social media data can now be used for this purpose. We mined data from Instagram, and used generalized linear models with site- and country-level deviations to explore which socio-economic, geographical and biological factors explain social media use in sub-Saharan African protected areas. We found that charismatic species richness did not explain social media usage. On the other hand, protected areas that were more accessible, had sparser vegetation, where human population density was higher, and that were located in wealthier countries, had higher social media use. Interestingly, protected areas with lower richness in non-charismatic species had more users. Overall, our results suggest that more factors than simply charismatic species might explain attractiveness of protected areas, and call for more in-depth content analysis of the posts. With African countries projected to develop further in the near-future, more social media data will become available, and could be used to inform protected area management and marketing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media reveal that charismatic species are not the main attractor of ecotourists to sub-Saharan protected areas

Hausmann

Toivonen

Tenkanen

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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“…Most studies use direct surveys within protected areas (Booth et al 2010, Ament et al 2016. Our results are consistent with previous studies suggesting that the lowest income earners have more-limited access to protected areas (Lindsey et al 2001, Booth et al 2010, Shanahan et al 2014.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Planning for the conservation and management of ecosystem services in Central Chile

Martínez‐Harms¹

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The ecosystem services concept emphasizes the benefits societies obtain from ecosystems.These benefits include the production of food and clean water, the regulation of floods, provision for recreation and scenic beauty, a connection to place, and inspiration. Ecosystem services have become popular within both scientific and policy circles as a means to document the value humans place on ecosystems, evaluating these benefits from nature and using the resulting knowledge to inform landuse management decisions. The integration of ecosystem services into decision-making, nevertheless, remains challenging. The research that comprises this thesis provides a comprehensive framework for strengthening the dialogue between ecosystem services assessment and decision-making. My case studies focus on critical challenges in the translation and transformation of ecosystem services as a concept, to a component that improves environmental decision-making.Numerous assessments have quantified, mapped, and valued ecosystem services. However, much of the literature fails to clarify how the information gathered in such assessments can be used to inform decisions that will affect ecosystem services. I propose a framework for making decisions for ecosystem services adapted from decision science and synthesize the degree to which the peerreviewed ecosystem services literature has captured these steps. I find that the ecosystem services literature has not covered all the steps of a formal decision-making process. For the ecosystem service paradigm to gain traction in science and policy arenas, future ecosystem service assessments should have clearly articulated objectives and meet user-related measures for ecosystem services, seek to evaluate the consequences of scenario alternatives, and facilitate closer engagement between scientists and stakeholders.There is a paucity of studies of ecosystem services assessments under global change, particularly in the developing countries of Latin America. I demonstrate a rapid assessment of the impacts of global change on key ecosystem services in the data-sparse region of Central Chile. This approach translates expert-derived qualitative scenario storylines into quantitative spatial predictions of the combined effects of climate change, urbanization and fire events on the future provision of carbon storage, wine production, and scenic beauty for the year 2050. I find that the cumulative impacts of climate change and urbanization are likely to place considerable pressure on ecosystem services in Central Chile by mid-century revealing the need for stronger planning regulations to manage land-use change.In environmental decision-making, there is increasing attention towards equity of access to ecosystem services, and in conservation implementation. In central Chile, distribution of ecosystem 2 services must be considered within the context of substantial economic and social inequity. I develop a user-related measure to assess the accessibility of the population to the protected area network. ...

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“…The symbolic role of cultural landscapes (e.g., alpine pastures, larch meadows) needs to be further evaluated to support the maintenance of these landscapes and associated ecosystem services (Fontana et al 2013;Schirpke et al 2017). Traditionally used landscapes were found to be hotspots of aesthetic, recreational, and spiritual values (Zoderer et al 2016), and the presence of symbolic species increases recreational opportunities (e.g., observing wildlife, nature photography, game) (Ament et al 2016).…”

Section: Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symbolic species as a cultural ecosystem service in the European Alps: insights and open issues

Schirpke

Meisch

2018

Landscape Ecol

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Purpose Symbolic plants and animals are recognised as a cultural ecosystem service (CES), which is still underrepresented in ecosystem services assessments. Thus, this study aims at identifying and mapping important symbolic species in the European Alps, which are of cultural significance to large parts of the Alpine population. Methods Symbolic species were identified by ten expert groups, and their use was assessed in a qualitative way. The spatial distribution of all species across the Alpine Space area was mapped at the municipality level. Through hotspots analysis, we identified spatial patterns in the distribution of species. Spearman correlation was used to evaluate the relationship between symbolic species and selected environmental and social variables. Results Ten species were identified (edelweiss, gentian, alpenrose, larch, pine, Alpine ibex, chamois, marmot, brown bear, and golden eagle) that are widely used for symbolic representations, i.e., depiction on flags, emblems, logos, and naming of hotels and brands. Hotspots of symbolic species were found in several locations in the European Alps and could be related to high elevation, steep slopes, open land cover, and naturalness. Conclusions This study proposes a methodology to map and assess symbolic species as a CES. As the spatial distribution of symbolic species depends on environmental characteristics and human activities, our results provide important insights for landscape planning and management. However, it remains unclear whether associated cultural values depend on the presence of the species and further research is needed to understand the relationships between the distribution of symbolic species and social benefits.

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Cultural Ecosystem Services in Protected Areas: Understanding Bundles, Trade‐Offs, and Synergies

Cited by 107 publications

References 45 publications

Social media reveal that charismatic species are not the main attractor of ecotourists to sub-Saharan protected areas

Social media reveal that charismatic species are not the main attractor of ecotourists to sub-Saharan protected areas

Planning for the conservation and management of ecosystem services in Central Chile

Symbolic species as a cultural ecosystem service in the European Alps: insights and open issues

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