Planning mine restoration through ecosystem services to enhance community engagement and deliver social benefits

Josianne C. S. Rosa; Angus Morrison‐Saunders; Michael Hughes; Luis E. Sánchez

doi:10.1111/rec.13162

A benefit-cost analysis framework for prioritization of control programs for well-established invasive alien species

NeoBiota ◽

10.3897/neobiota.68.62122 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 68 ◽

pp. 31-52

Author(s):

Rakel Blaalid ◽

Kristin Magnussen ◽

Nina Bruvik Westberg ◽

Ståle Navrud

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Cost Analysis ◽

Alien Species ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Social Benefits ◽

Benefit Cost Analysis ◽

Control Programs ◽

Benefit Cost ◽

And Control ◽

Established Species

Invasive alien species (IAS) are identified as a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services. While early detection and control programs to avoid establishments of new alien species can be very cost-effective, control costs for well-established species can be enormous. Many of these well-established species constitute severe or high ecological impact and are thus likely to be included in control programs. However, due to limited funds, we need to prioritize which species to control according to the gains in ecological status and human well-being compared to the costs. Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) provides such a tool but has been hampered by the difficulties in assessing the overall social benefits on the same monetary scale as the control costs. In order to overcome this obstacle, we combine a non-monetary benefit assessment tool with the ecosystem service framework to create a benefit assessment in line with the welfare economic underpinnings of BCA. Our simplified BCA prioritization tool enables us to conduct rapid and cheap appraisals of large numbers of invasive species that the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre has found to cause negative ecological impacts. We demonstrate this application on 30 well-established invasive alien vascular plant species in Norway. Social benefits are calculated and aggregated on a benefit point scale for six impact categories: four types of ecosystem services (supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural), human health and infrastructure impacts. Total benefit points are then compared to the total control costs of programs aiming at eradicating individual IAS across Norway or in selected vulnerable ecosystems. Although there are uncertainties with regards to IAS population size, benefits assessment and control program effectiveness and costs; our simplified BCA tool identified six species associated with robust low cost-benefit ratios in terms of control costs (in million USD) per benefit point. As a large share of public funds for eradication of IAS is currently spent on control programs for other plant species, we recommend that the environmental authorities at all levels use our BCA prioritization tool to increase the social benefits of their limited IAS control budgets. In order to maximize the net social benefits of IAS control programs, environmental valuation studies of their ecosystem service benefits are needed.

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The social benefits and costs of preserving forest biodiversity and ecosystem services

Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy ◽

10.1080/21606544.2014.982201 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 202-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Henrik Lindhjem ◽

Kristine Grimsrud ◽

Ståle Navrud ◽

Stein Olav Kolle

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Social Benefits ◽

Forest Biodiversity ◽

The Social ◽

Benefits And Costs

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Designing Wetlands as an Essential Infrastructural Element for Urban Development in the era of Climate Change

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11071920 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1920 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Changwoo Ahn ◽

Stephanie Schmidt

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Development ◽

Community Engagement ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Urban Infrastructure ◽

Significant Loss ◽

Sustainable Urban Development ◽

Urban Wetlands ◽

Design Elements

The increasing development of urban infrastructure has led to the significant loss of natural wetlands and their ecosystem services. Many novel urban development projects currently attempt to incorporate environmental sustainability, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and community engagement into the intricate challenges we all face in an era of climate change. This paper aims to communicate several key findings on design elements that can be adopted or incorporated in the design of created wetlands as infrastructural elements. Three major design elements—microtopography, hydrologic connectivity, and planting diversity—are presented, and their relations to restoring ecosystem services of urban wetlands, in particular water and habitat quality, are discussed. These design elements can be easily adopted or incorporated in the planning, designing, and construction stages of urban development. The success of urban infrastructure projects may require both better communication among stakeholders and a great deal of community engagement. The Rain Project, a floating wetland project on an urban college campus, demonstrates the role of interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement as a model for sustainable stormwater management, a critical part of today’s urban development. Further efforts should be made to advance the science of designing urban wetlands and its communication to transform cultural attitudes toward sustainable urban development.

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Social benefits of river restoration from ecosystem services perspective: A systematic review

Environmental Science & Policy ◽

10.1016/j.envsci.2021.06.005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 124 ◽

pp. 90-100

Author(s):

Sayantani M. Basak ◽

Md Sarwar Hossain ◽

Joanna Tusznio ◽

Małgorzata Grodzińska-Jurczak

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

River Restoration ◽

Social Benefits

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Thriving in Academia: Understanding and Managing the Complexities of Faculty Work

Perspectives on Issues in Higher Education ◽

10.1044/ihe15.2.77 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 77-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ketevan Mamiseishvili

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Education Research ◽

Community Engagement ◽

Everyday Life ◽

Work Setting ◽

Higher Education Research ◽

Faculty Work ◽

College And University ◽

Teaching Research ◽

University Settings

In this paper, I will illustrate the changing nature and complexity of faculty employment in college and university settings. I will use existing higher education research to describe changes in faculty demographics, the escalating demands placed on faculty in the work setting, and challenges that confront professors seeking tenure or administrative advancement. Boyer’s (1990) framework for bringing traditionally marginalized and neglected functions of teaching, service, and community engagement into scholarship is examined as a model for balancing not only teaching, research, and service, but also work with everyday life.

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