scholarly journals Integrating estimates of ecosystem services from conservation programs and practices into models for decision makers

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (sp1) ◽  
pp. S128-S134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ned H. Euliss ◽  
Loren M. Smith ◽  
Shuguang Liu ◽  
Walter G. Duffy ◽  
Stephen P. Faulkner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Conservation Programs

scholarly journals Policy impacts of ecosystem services knowledge

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 1760-1765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Posner ◽  
Emily McKenzie ◽  
Taylor H. Ricketts
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Policy Impact ◽  
Predictor Variables ◽  
Policy Impacts ◽  
The Impact

Research about ecosystem services (ES) often aims to generate knowledge that influences policies and institutions for conservation and human development. However, we have limited understanding of how decision-makers use ES knowledge or what factors facilitate use. Here we address this gap and report on, to our knowledge, the first quantitative analysis of the factors and conditions that explain the policy impact of ES knowledge. We analyze a global sample of cases where similar ES knowledge was generated and applied to decision-making. We first test whether attributes of ES knowledge themselves predict different measures of impact on decisions. We find that legitimacy of knowledge is more often associated with impact than either the credibility or salience of the knowledge. We also examine whether predictor variables related to the science-to-policy process and the contextual conditions of a case are significant in predicting impact. Our findings indicate that, although many factors are important, attributes of the knowledge and aspects of the science-to-policy process that enhance legitimacy best explain the impact of ES science on decision-making. Our results are consistent with both theory and previous qualitative assessments in suggesting that the attributes and perceptions of scientific knowledge and process within which knowledge is coproduced are important determinants of whether that knowledge leads to action.

Ecosystem Services to Enhance Coastal Resilience in Mexico: The Gap between the Perceptions of Decision-Makers and Academics

2017 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 116-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debora Lithgow ◽  
M. Luisa Martínez ◽  
Rodolfo Silva ◽  
Davide Geneletti ◽  
Juan B. Gallego-Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Coastal Resilience

scholarly journals Social Learning for Facilitating Dialogue and Understanding of the Ecosystem Services Approach: Lessons from a Cross-Border Experience in the Alboran Marine Basin

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5239 ◽  
Author(s):  
María D. López-Rodríguez ◽  
Javier Cabello ◽  
Hermelindo Castro ◽  
Jaime Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Governance Practice ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Marine Basin

Social learning (SL) appears to have considerable potential to enhance the impact of the ecosystem services approach (ESA) discourse on policy and society. However, empirical research to better understand the processes that support SL, the effects it generates, and the conditions that enable such learning is limited. This study assesses the ability of SL to enhance dialogue and understanding of the ESA to support transformative social change in governance practice in the Alboran Marine Basin. To do so, we conducted a specifically designed SL process oriented towards the ESA as a governance approach in this marine region. The SL process was developed through three interlinked workshops involving scientists, decision-makers and local users from Spain and Morocco, the two countries that share the governance of this social-ecological system. The results revealed that the SL process progressively facilitated (i) a more inclusive and constructive ecosystem services dialogue, (ii) a better understanding of the social-ecological system in which the actors were embedded, (iii) an enhanced recognition of science-policy-society complementarities to address sustainability issues, and (iv) a gradual social transformation towards more sustainable and equitable governance. Via the SL process, a variety of factors were identified as contributing to the creation of four relevant conditions that facilitated its successful operationalisation. These conditions included (i) the generation of trust and shared understanding, (ii) the facilitation of knowledge exchanges between actor groups across frontiers, (iii) the promotion of more democratic participation, and (iv) the co-production of practical outcomes. These contextual insights provided empirical evidence of the prominent role SL can play to enhance dialogue and understanding of the ESA for supporting its adoption as governance practice. On this basis, it is argued that operationalising SL in those processes focused on making the ESA relevant to policy and society is pivotal to its implementation in governance practice.

scholarly journals Combining Decision Support Approaches for Optimizing the Selection of Bundles of Ecosystem Services

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Marto ◽  
Keith Reynolds ◽  
José Borges ◽  
Vladimir Bushenkov ◽  
Susete Marques
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Pareto Frontier ◽  
Efficient Solutions ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Management Decision ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Spatial Logic ◽  
Alternative Solutions ◽  
Selection Of

This study examines the potential of combining decision support approaches to identify optimal bundles of ecosystem services in a framework characterized by multiple decision-makers. A forested landscape, Zona de Intervenção Florestal of Paiva and Entre-Douro and Sousa (ZIF_VS) in Portugal, is used to test and demonstrate this potential. The landscape extends over 14,388 ha, representing 1976 stands. The property is fragmented into 376 holdings. The overall analysis was performed in three steps. First, we selected six alternative solutions (A to F) in a Pareto frontier generated by a multiple-criteria method within a web-based decision support system (SADfLOR) for subsequent analysis. Next, an aspatial strategic multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) was performed with the Criterium DecisionPlus (CDP) component of the Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) system to assess the aggregate performance of solutions A to F for the entire forested landscape with respect to their utility for delivery of ecosystem services. For the CDP analysis, SADfLOR data inputs were grouped into two sets of primary criteria: Wood Harvested and Other Ecosystem Services. Finally, a spatial logic-based assessment of solutions A to F for individual stands of the study area was performed with the NetWeaver component of EMDS. The NetWeaver model was structurally and computationally equivalent to the CDP model, but the key NetWeaver metric is a measure of the strength of evidence that solutions for specific stands were optimal for the unit. We conclude with a discussion of how the combination of decision support approaches encapsulated in the two systems could be further automated in order to rank several efficient solutions in a Pareto frontier and generate a consensual solution.

scholarly journals Toward Decision-Making Support: Valuation and Mapping of New Management Scenarios for Tunisian Cork Oak Forests

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
Mariem Khalfaoui ◽  
Hamed Daly-Hassen ◽  
Boutheina Stiti ◽  
Sihem Jebari
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Cork Oak ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Density Decrease ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
The Impact

Forest ecosystems are an important anthropogenic pillar to human wellbeing, providing a multitude of ecosystem services. In Mediterranean countries, where climate change effects are exponentially increasing, the value of the forest ecosystem services is even higher and their preservation is more crucial. However, the biophysical and economic value of such services is usually not observable due to their non-marketable characteristics, leading to their underestimation by decision-makers. This paper aims to guide decision-making through a set of new management scenarios based on ecosystem services’ values and their spatial distribution. It is a cumulative multidisciplinary study based on biophysical models results, economically valued and implemented using the geographic information system (GIS) to analyze spatial data. The investigation was based on a biophysical and economic valuation of cork, grazing, carbon sequestration and sediment retention as a selection of ecosystem services provided by cork oak forest (Ain Snoussi, Tunisia). The valuation was made for the actual situation and two management scenarios (density decrease and afforestation of the shrub land), with emphasis on their spatial distribution as a basis to new management. The total economic value (TEV) of the investigated services provided by Ain Snoussi forest (3787 ha) was €0.55 million/year corresponding to €194/ha/year. The assessment of two different scenarios based on the land cover changes showed that the afforestation scenario provided the highest TEV with €0.68 million/year and an average of €217/ha, while the density decrease scenario provided €0.54 million/year and an average of €191/ha. Such results may orient decision-makers about the impact new management may have, however they should be applied with caution and wariness due to the importance of the spatial dimension in this study.

scholarly journals Avoiding impacts on biodiversity through strengthening the first stage of the mitigation hierarchy

Oryx ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Phalan ◽  
Genevieve Hayes ◽  
Sharon Brooks ◽  
David Marsh ◽  
Pippa Howard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Building Capacity ◽  
Mitigation Hierarchy ◽  
Conservation Organizations

AbstractThe mitigation hierarchy is a decision-making framework designed to address impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services through first seeking to avoid impacts wherever possible, then minimizing or restoring impacts, and finally by offsetting any unavoidable impacts. Avoiding impacts is seen by many as the most certain and effective way of managing harm to biodiversity, and its position as the first stage of the mitigation hierarchy indicates that it should be prioritized ahead of other stages. However, despite an abundance of legislative and voluntary requirements, there is often a failure to avoid impacts. We discuss reasons for this failure and outline some possible solutions. We highlight the key roles that can be played by conservation organizations in cultivating political will, holding decision makers accountable to the law, improving the processes of impact assessment and avoidance, building capacity, and providing technical knowledge. A renewed focus on impact avoidance as the foundation of the mitigation hierarchy could help to limit the impacts on biodiversity of large-scale developments in energy, infrastructure, agriculture and other sectors.

scholarly journals Balancing ecosystem services with energy and food security – Assessing trade-offs from reservoir operation and irrigation investments in Kenya's Tana Basin

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 3259-3277 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Hurford ◽  
J. J. Harou
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Search Algorithm ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Pareto Optimal ◽  
Management Problem ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Trade Offs

Abstract. Competition for water between key economic sectors and the environment means agreeing allocations is challenging. Managing releases from the three major dams in Kenya's Tana River basin with its 4.4 million inhabitants, 567 MW of installed hydropower capacity, 33 000 ha of irrigation and ecologically important wetlands and forests is a pertinent example. This research seeks firstly to identify and help decision-makers visualise reservoir management strategies which result in the best possible (Pareto-optimal) allocation of benefits between sectors. Secondly, it seeks to show how trade-offs between achievable benefits shift with the implementation of proposed new rice, cotton and biofuel irrigation projects. To approximate the Pareto-optimal trade-offs we link a water resources management simulation model to a multi-criteria search algorithm. The decisions or "levers" of the management problem are volume-dependent release rules for the three major dams and extent of investment in new irrigation schemes. These decisions are optimised for eight objectives covering the provision of water supply and irrigation, energy generation and maintenance of ecosystem services. Trade-off plots allow decision-makers to assess multi-reservoir rule-sets and irrigation investment options by visualising their impacts on different beneficiaries. Results quantify how economic gains from proposed irrigation schemes trade-off against the disturbance of ecosystems and local livelihoods that depend on them. Full implementation of the proposed schemes is shown to come at a high environmental and social cost. The clarity and comprehensiveness of "best-case" trade-off analysis is a useful vantage point from which to tackle the interdependence and complexity of "water-energy-food nexus" resource security issues.

scholarly journals Spatial Trade-Offs and Temporal Evolution of Multiple Ecosystem Services in a Marine-Terrestrial Urban-Agglomeration Zone

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huaxiang Chen ◽  
Lina Tang ◽  
Quanyi Qiu ◽  
Baosheng Wang ◽  
Weixiang Hu
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Temporal Evolution ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Research To Practice ◽  
Construction Land ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
To Come

It takes some time for changes to come in ecosystem services, and trade-offs occur in the process of changes. As opposed to a point in time, we use data spanning the years 2000–2005, 2005–2010, and 2010–2015 to study this research. After quantifying types of ecosystem services, this paper uses spatial correlation analysis and root-mean square deviation (RMSD) method to explore the relationships among ecosystem services and calculate the degree of spatial trade-offs (DT). Results show that the construction land increased substantially albeit at a declining rate of growth, and the degree of trade-offs (DT) increased with nontrivial differences in space. The hotspots for trade-offs are spatially aggregated in some areas but have varying patterns between ecosystem service pairs. The increasing area (IA) of construction land does not promote increased DT until the former reaches a certain threshold. With the exception of land use changes, type of industrial development is one of the key factors that influence the trade-offs of ecosystem services in the research region. We apply the models and methods used in this research to practice and discuss the practical value of our results for planners and decision makers vis-à-vis the design and instigation of appropriate development strategies.

scholarly journals Science for the sustainable use of ecosystem services

F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 2622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena M. Bennett ◽  
Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Service Science ◽  
Human Wellbeing ◽  
History Of ◽  
Value Of Nature

Sustainability is a key challenge for humanity in the 21st century. Ecosystem services—the benefits that people derive from nature and natural capital—is a concept often used to help explain human reliance on nature and frame the decisions we make in terms of the ongoing value of nature to human wellbeing. Yet ecosystem service science has not always lived up to the promise of its potential. Despite advances in the scientific literature, ecosystem service science has not yet answered some of the most critical questions posed by decision-makers in the realm of sustainability. Here, we explore the history of ecosystem service science, discuss advances in conceptualization and measurement, and point toward further work needed to improve the use of ecosystem service in decisions about sustainable development.

Exploring ecosystem service issues across diverse knowledge domains using Bayesian Belief Networks

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 681-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Haines-Young
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Bayesian Belief Networks ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Belief Networks ◽  
Knowledge Domains ◽  
Study Materials ◽  
Shared Social Values

The analysis of the relationships between people and nature is complex, because it involves bringing together insights from a range of disciplines, and, when stakeholders are involved, the perspectives and values of different interest groups. Although it has been suggested that analytical-deliberate approaches may be useful in dealing with some of this complexity, the development of methods is still at an early stage. This is particularly so in relation to debates around the concept of ecosystem services where biophysical, social and economic insights need to be integrated in ways that can be accessed by decision-makers. The paper draws on case studies to examine the use of Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) as a means of implementing analytical-deliberative approaches in relation to mapping ecosystem services and modelling scenario outcomes. It also explores their use as a tool for representing individual and group values. It is argued that when linked with GIS techniques BBNs allow mapping and modelling approaches rapidly to be developed and tested in an efficient and transparent way, and that they are a valuable scenario-building tool. The case-study materials also show that BBNs can support multicriteria forms of deliberative analysis that can be used to capture stakeholder opinions so that different perspectives can be compared and shared social values identified.

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