Trade-Offs and Synergies among 17 Ecosystem Services in Africa: A Long-Term Multi-National Analysis

Abstract

The proper management of multiple ecosystem services (ESs) in a balanced manner is an important and challenging responsibility. However, due to infrastructural constraints, we need to understand more about the spatial interactions among ESs in most African countries. Therefore, we took 48 African countries, 5 African geopolitical regions, and the African continent as case studies to diagnose the spatial trade-offs and synergies among 17 ESs and 8 types of land use and land cover (LULC) in 2000 and 2019. The implications of our findings at the national, regional, continental, and global levels were explored. To achieve this, we mapped the spatial distributions of the 17 ESs at the continental level using classified land cover data from MODIS remotely sensed data, with a spectral band between 0.405 and 14.385 µm and a spatial resolution of 500 m. Then, we used Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to determine the spatial interactions among the 17 ESs. The results show that regulation services showed synergies at the continental level in gas regulation (0.66), climate regulation (0.71), disturbance regulation (0.14), water regulation (0.53), water supply (0.71), and waste treatment (0.06). Moreover, we found moderate levels of interactions among most ESs in the 48 countries, with most regulating services and supporting services exhibiting trade-offs with other categories of ESs, among other findings. The results will inform scientific communities and authorities at all levels on how to deliver human well-being and quality of life, and usher in a sustainable change where we expect better ecosystem management and ecological conservation.

Exploring the Relationships between Tradeoffs and Synergies among Island Ecosystem Service Bundles: A Study on Zhoushan Archipelago Located on the Southeast Coast of China

“…It is clear from the table that the global Moran's I indices of all six ecosystem services in Zhoushan Archipelago are greater than 0 (p < 0.01), indicating that there is significant spatial aggregation (positive spatial autocorrelation) for all six ecosystem services in the islands. Furthermore, findings from other studies suggest that there are notable tradeoffs and synergies among various ecosystem services in Zhoushan Archipelago [59]. Due to the above characteristics, it can be inferred that certain clusters of ecosystem services exist in the islands.…”