The possibilities and pitfalls presented by a pragmatic approach to ecosystem service valuation in an arid biodiversity hotspot

O’Farrell, Patrick J.; Lange, Willem de; Maitre, David C. Le; Reyers, Belinda; Blignaut, James Nelson; Milton, Suzanne J.; Atkinson, Doreen; Egoh, Benis N.; Maherry, A; Colvin, Christine; Cowling, Richard M.

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.01.005

Cited by 37 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Stakeholders' attitudes and/or behavior and the level of consistency within the governance system may, therefore, facilitate restoration activities and progress, or cause dysfunction within the SESs that can lead to reversal or even elimination of the desired ecological progress (Berkes and Folke 2000, Hobbs 2007, Hobbs et al 2011. Achieving successful restoration outcomes requires the design of new approaches that can measure and link both ecological functions and human well-being (O'Farrell et al 2011).…”

Section: Ecological Restoration Is the Process Of Assisting The Recovmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Social–Ecological System Approach to Analyze Stakeholders’ Interactions within a Large-Scale Rangeland Restoration Program

Pétursdóttir¹,

Arnalds²,

Baker³

et al. 2013

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Large-scale restoration projects are normally part of a complex social-ecological system where restoration goals are shaped by governmental policies, managed by the surrounding governance system, and implemented by the related actors. The process of efficiently restoring degraded ecosystems is, therefore, not only based on restoring ecological structure and functions but also relies on the functionality of the related policies, the relevant stakeholder groups, and the surrounding socioeconomic and political settings. In this research, we investigated the SES of rangeland restoration in Iceland to estimate whether social factors, such as stakeholders' attitudes and behavior, can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of agrienvironmental policies on rangeland restoration and improved land management. We used qualitative approaches, interviewing 15 stakeholders. Our results indicate that social factors such as attitude toward restoration and land management practices can be used as indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration policies. They also strongly indicate that lack of functionality in the governance system of social-ecological systems can reduce the desired progress of policies related to large-scale natural resource management projects, such as rangeland restoration, and possibly halt the necessary paradigm shift among stakeholders regarding improved rangeland management.

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Section: Ecological Restoration Is the Process Of Assisting The Recovmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Social–Ecological System Approach to Analyze Stakeholders’ Interactions within a Large-Scale Rangeland Restoration Program

Pétursdóttir¹,

Arnalds²,

Baker³

et al. 2013

E&S

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“…Other measures include the number of tourist attractions, tax value of summer cottages, number of reported sightings of rare species [11], tourist expenditure [12], accessibility to natural areas [13], days spent fishing [14] and indices combining multiple such variables [15]–[17]. When compared, these measures have, in the main, been found to be weakly correlated with spatial variation in other ecosystem services, which has significant implications for identifying and managing priority areas for their maintenance [1], [2], [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Covariance between Aesthetic Value & Other Ecosystem Services

et al. 2013

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Mapping the spatial distribution of ecosystem goods and services represents a burgeoning field of research, although how different services covary with one another remains poorly understood. This is particularly true for the covariation of supporting, provisioning and regulating services with cultural services (the non-material benefits people gain from nature). This is largely because of challenges associated with the spatially specific quantification of cultural ecosystem services. We propose an innovative approach for evaluating a cultural service, the perceived aesthetic value of ecosystems, by quantifying geo-tagged digital photographs uploaded to social media resources. Our analysis proceeds from the premise that images will be captured by greater numbers of people in areas that are more highly valued for their aesthetic attributes. This approach was applied in Cornwall, UK, to carry out a spatial analysis of the covariation between ecosystem services: soil carbon stocks, agricultural production, and aesthetic value. Our findings suggest that online geo-tagged images provide an effective metric for mapping a key component of cultural ecosystem services. They also highlight the non-stationarity in the spatial relationships between patterns of ecosystem services.

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“…'Production-function' approaches to the valuation of water supplies focus on estimating how much value is added to the economy per unit of water supplied [109,131]. This can be relatively easily estimated for agricultural products where there is a market and the relationship of water inputs to outputs is reasonably well understood [132,133].…”

Section: Water Availability and Supplymentioning

confidence: 99%

Valuing Environmental Benefit Streams in the Dryland Ecosystems of Sub-Saharan Africa

King‐Okumu

2018

Land

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Policy-makers and practitioners often struggle or fail to define and quantify the economic impacts that can be achieved through ecologically sustainable investments in dryland ecosystems. This paper reviews the current state of the art in the characterization and valuation of environmental benefits in drought-prone areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Benefit streams from ecosystem services associated with the production of food, energy and water are characterized, as well as those from supporting and regulating hydrological systems. For each value type, valuation approaches and examples of their application in Sub-Saharan African contexts are presented. The review is drawn from a series of recent methodological discussions, working papers and field research reports focusing on the benefits of locally determined and ecosystem-based adaptations under dryland climate extremes. The focus is on the challenges faced by practitioners and researchers tasked with developing benefit-cost assessments for investments in the adaptive management and conservation of dryland ecosystems, particularly in marginalized dry and drought-prone areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Recommendations could also interest a wider global community of dryland researchers and development practitioners.

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The possibilities and pitfalls presented by a pragmatic approach to ecosystem service valuation in an arid biodiversity hotspot

Cited by 37 publications

References 73 publications

A Social–Ecological System Approach to Analyze Stakeholders’ Interactions within a Large-Scale Rangeland Restoration Program

A Social–Ecological System Approach to Analyze Stakeholders’ Interactions within a Large-Scale Rangeland Restoration Program

Spatial Covariance between Aesthetic Value & Other Ecosystem Services

Valuing Environmental Benefit Streams in the Dryland Ecosystems of Sub-Saharan Africa

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The possibilities and pitfalls presented by a pragmatic approach to ecosystem service valuation in an arid biodiversity hotspot

Cited by 37 publications

References 73 publications

A Social&#8211;Ecological System Approach to Analyze Stakeholders&#8217; Interactions within a Large-Scale Rangeland Restoration Program

A Social&#8211;Ecological System Approach to Analyze Stakeholders&#8217; Interactions within a Large-Scale Rangeland Restoration Program

Spatial Covariance between Aesthetic Value & Other Ecosystem Services

Valuing Environmental Benefit Streams in the Dryland Ecosystems of Sub-Saharan Africa

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Product

Resources

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A Social–Ecological System Approach to Analyze Stakeholders’ Interactions within a Large-Scale Rangeland Restoration Program

A Social–Ecological System Approach to Analyze Stakeholders’ Interactions within a Large-Scale Rangeland Restoration Program