Understanding the links between ecosystem service trade-offs and conflicts in protected areas

Abstract

Land use changes induced by nature conservation regulation and management practices, especially in protected areas, often result in trade-offs between ecosystem services (ESs). Exploring trade-offs between ESs and linking them with stakeholders can help reveal the potential losers and winners of land use changes. In this paper, we demonstrate that ES trade-offs do not always go hand in hand with conflicts. The perception of local stakeholders about trade-offs between ESs at three protected sites in the Great Hungarian Plain were assessed through qualitative methods. In all areas significant conservation measures had been introduced since the 1990s resulting in land use changes. Locals (farmers at each site and inhabitants at one site) were the main 'losers' of the land use changes and related ES trade-offs, while there were many winners at different spatial and temporal scales. Conflicts appeared only between locals and the national park directorates, and not between locals and other beneficiaries of the new ESs. Due to scale mismatch, locals might not be in direct contact with other stakeholders, and vice versa, and therefore there is no interface between them for confrontation and negotiation. Integrating scale into the analysis also helps in advising policy instruments to minimise local-level conflicts.

The Influence of Natura 2000 Sites on Land-Taking Processes at the Regional Level: An Empirical Analysis Concerning Sardinia (Italy)

“…Finally, as widely recognized in the literature, conservation measures may prevent the implementation of traditional land uses related to urbanization, agriculture and pastures, and, by doing so, they may possibly generate conflicts between local communities and municipal authorities [71,73]. The issues of information, participation and consensus-building should not be undervalued in the definition and implementation of local plans that entail conservation measures and policies against land take, and inclusive participatory processes should be carefully designed in detail long before plans are discussed and approved.…”

Anthropization Processes and Protection of the Environment: An Assessment of Land Cover Changes in Sardinia, Italy

“…A final issue concerns potential conflicts in terms of public consensus between conservation measures, aimed at maintaining and protecting biodiversity, and those traditional land uses (such as pasture and agriculture) that may negatively impact species and habitats [63,65]. Local communities should be actively involved in the decision-making processes concerning protected areas in order to build consensus on the importance of protection policies.…”

Green Infrastructure and Ecological Corridors: A Regional Study Concerning Sardinia

“…Several scholars address this trade-off issue. For example, Kovács et al [65], among many, analyze non-monetary trade-offs related to three Hungarian protected sites.…”