scholarly journals A Participatory Geospatial Toolkit for Science Integration and Knowledge Transfer Informing SDGs Based Governance and Decision Making

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 8088
Author(s):  
Maurizio Sajeva ◽  
Marjo Maidell ◽  
Jonne Kotta
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Economic Knowledge ◽  
Science Integration

While the specialisation of science is important for understanding specific systems, the isolation of scientific schools in their disciplinary silos makes it harder to understand the interactions within and between systems and limits the wisdom about the whole systems’ sustainability. Science integration and its practical implementation is a key factor of success for sustainable development. The aim of this paper is to present a participatory geospatial toolkit developed during the BONUS MARES project that enables science integration and knowledge transfer informing SDGs based governance and decision making. This was realized through the Eco-GAME (Governance Assessment Matrix Exercise) framework, trans-disciplinary social learning for the meta-evaluation of existing knowledge about human-nature systems interaction—manifested through ecosystem services. The Eco-GAME was applied to a participatory geospatial toolkit that translates complex ecological knowledge on ecosystems, ecosystem functions, and services produced into more usable forms to inform evidence-based decision-making in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is the first attempt, in the context of geospatial applications, to support dynamic interaction, trans-disciplinary social-learning, and multi-dimensional appreciation of ecosystem services for integrating ecological, non-economic and economic knowledge and methods. The toolkit is being implemented in the MAREA project.

scholarly journals Facilitating spatially-explicit assessments of ecosystem service delivery to support land use planning

One Ecosystem ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Vrebos ◽  
Jan Staes ◽  
Steven Broekx ◽  
Leo de Nocker ◽  
Karen Gabriels ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Time Investment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Since the early 2000s, there have been substantial efforts to transform the concept of ecosystem services into practice. Spatial assessment tools are being developed to evaluate the impact of spatial planning on a wide range of ecosystem services. However, the actual implementation in decision-making remains limited. To improve implementation, tools that are tailored to local conditions can provide accurate, meaningful information. Instead of a generic and widely-applicable tool, we developed a regional, spatially-explicit tool (ECOPLAN-SE) to analyse the impact of changes in land use on the delivery of 18 ecosystem services in Flanders (Belgium). The tool incorporates ecosystem services relevant to policy-makers and managers and makes use of detailed local data and knowledge. By providing an easy-to-use tool, including the required spatial geodatasets, time investment and the learning curve remain limited for the user. With this tool, constraints to implement ecosystem service assessments in local decision-making are drastically reduced. We believe that region-specific decision support systems, like ECOPLAN-SE, are indispensable intermediates between the conceptual ecosystem service frameworks and the practical implementation in planning processes.

scholarly journals Contribution of Ecosystem Services to Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veidemane
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Water Ecosystems

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) for 2030 are established to address global challenges including environment and human well-being. The SDGs are interconnected and achievement of them requires consideration of the planet’s ecosystems and resources - land, water and air. Ecosystem services (ES) approach has a high potential for better planning, policy and decision making. Understanding how different ecosystems (e.g., forests, rivers, wetlands, grasslands) contribute to the social and economic benefits is critical to ensure the long-term biodiversity protection and sustainable use of ecosystems. A conceptual framework linking biodiversity and ecosystem condition (its structure and functions), and ES to human well-being has been well-established in EU by so called MAES process (Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem Services) lead by the European Commission. The framework is applied in recent research studies and projects, as well as national MAES processes. Various methods are applied for MAES in terms to determine biophysical, economic and social values and to deliver integrated ecosystem assessment. Assessment of ES and trade off analysis shall provide a new perspective for land use planning and decision making at different administrative and spatial levels and in different sectoral policies. EU and national policies for instance on agriculture, fishery, forestry, climate should account the benefits provided by relevant ecosystems and to ensure that the values are not diminished but rather enhanced during the implementation of the policies. Terrestrial and water ecosystems are interconnected as land-based human activities creates pressure that impacts the conditions in water ecosystems and thus delivery of ES by rivers and lakes. For example, intensive agricultural land use produces food for people and income; however, the activity also most frequently causes problems with water quality and quantity in the catchment area and a loss of biodiversity. A risk of such trade-off shall be handled in policy development. Ecosystems also contributes to the resilience of communities by reducing the risk of natural hazards and mitigate adverse impacts. Regulating services such as flood control are substituting investments in flood protection ensured by forests, wetlands and grasslands instead of human built infrastructure. Appropriate land cover and land use shall serve as a basic flood protection measure. Natural processes are increasingly recognised to create new-type solutions that use and deploy the properties of natural ecosystems and their services in an “engineered” way. A wide range of measures called also as nature-based solutions provide another opportunity to work with nature towards global sustainability.

scholarly journals An Eco-GAME Meta-Evaluation of Existing Methods for the Appreciation of Ecosystem Services

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7805
Author(s):  
Maurizio Sajeva ◽  
Marjo Maidell ◽  
Jonne Kotta ◽  
Anneliis Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Dimensional System ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The One

The isolation of science disciplines and the weak integration between science, policy and society represent main challenges for sustainable human development. If, on the one hand, the specialization of science has produced higher levels of knowledge, on the other hand, the whole picture of the complex interactions between systems has suffered. Economic and natural sciences are, on matters of sustainable development, strongly divergent, and the interface informing decision-making is weak. This downplays uncertainty and creates room for entrenched political positions, compromising evidence-based decision-making and putting the urgent need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030 at risk. This article presents the heterodox Eco-GAME framework for interconnecting science through trans-disciplinary social-learning and meta-evaluation of scientific knowledge in pursuit of SDGs. The framework is tested and refined in the BONUS MARES project by systematic literature analysis, participatory workshops, and semi-structured interviews, in relation to the specific habitats of Baltic Sea mussel reefs, seagrass beds and macroalgae ecosystem services produced and methods applied. The results, acknowledging the urgency of interfacing science, policy and society, validate the Eco-GAME as a framework for this purpose and present a multi-dimensional system of indicators as a further development.

Response of ecosystem functions to climate change and implications for sustainable development on the Inner Mongolian Plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guozheng Hu ◽  
Jocelyn Davies ◽  
Qingzhu Gao ◽  
Cunzhu Liang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Carbon Exchange ◽  
Mongolian Plateau ◽  
Recent Climate Change ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
The Impact

The responses of ecosystem functions in Inner Mongolian grasslands to climate change have implications for ecosystem services and sustainable development. Research published in two previous Special Issues of The Rangeland Journal shows that recent climate change added to overgrazing and other factors caused increased degradation of Inner Mongolian rangelands whereas on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, climate change tended to ameliorate the impacts of overgrazing. Recent climate change on the Mongolian Plateau involved warming with increasingly variable annual precipitation and decreased summer rainfall. Future climate projections are different, involving modest increases in precipitation and further climate warming. Research published in the current Special Issue shows that precipitation is the climate factor that has the most substantial impact on ecosystem functions in this region and is positively correlated with plant species diversity, ecosystem carbon exchange and Normalised Difference Vegetation Index. Increased flows of provisioning and regulating ecosystem services are expected with future climate change indicating that its impacts will be positive in this region. However, spatial heterogeneity in the environments and climates of Inner Mongolia highlights the risk of over-generalising from local-scale studies and indicates the value of increased attention to meta-analysis and regional scale models. The enhanced flows of ecosystem services from climate change may support sustainable development by promoting recovery of degraded grasslands with flow-on benefits for livelihoods and the regional economy. However, realising these potential benefits will depend on sound landscape management and addressing the risk of herders increasing livestock numbers to take advantage of the extra forage available. Investment in education is important to improve local capacity to adapt rangeland management to climate change, as are policies and strategies that integrate social, economic and ecological considerations and are tailored to specific regions. Gaps in understanding that could be addressed through further research on ecosystem functions include; belowground carbon exchange processes; the impact of increased variability in precipitation; and the impact of different management practices under changed climates.

Transferring The Mauri Model Of Decision Making Framework From New Zealand To Merauke Regency In Southern Papua

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Veronika Wambrauw
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Decision Making Framework

Today sustainable development is a concern around the globe. Sustainable development should include improving well-being, equitable distribution, and the integration of ecological concepts which pass from generation to generation and across time. Sustainable ways of life have actually been practised by indigenous peoples inter-generationally.  The Indigenous Peoples have similarities around the world in that they are inseparable from nature, and use their knowledge to maintain their ecosystems of origin.  This attribute reflects the potential for traditional ecological knowledge to sustain the environment and help people survive. This increases the motivation for considering including traditional ecological knowledge when making decisions and assessing the environment and development, including development in the agricultural sectors.  One of the environmental assessments which integrates traditional values is the Mauri Model Decision Making Framework (MMDMF) which was developed in and for Aotearoa New Zealand. This assessment approach uses the concept of ‘mauri’. Mauri is an important element in Māori culture. It is the essence or life force, the spark of life  and  a central concept that informs sustainability. The framework measures four dimensions of wellbeing as the basis of the sustainability assessment: the mauri of community (social), the mauri of the family unit (economic), the mauri of the ecosystem (environment), and the mauri of the tribe (culture). Merauke regency is the location of a new agricultural development scheme, called the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE). MIFEE is a national programme to develop the regency as a national and local granary. The purposes of this paper are  to examine the feasibility to transfer this assessment in the context of Merauke and to assess the sustainability of 1.2 Million Ha Merauke Integrated Food and energy Estate .  The results show that the MMDMF  is transferable and that although the assessment shows the project benefits the economic and social dimensions, the cultural and environmental dimensions are diminished.

scholarly journals Conciliate Agriculture with Landscape and Biodiversity Conservation: A Role-Playing Game to Explore Trade-Offs among Ecosystem Services through Social Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clémence Moreau ◽  
Cécile Barnaud ◽  
Raphaël Mathevet
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Innovative Methods ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Role Playing Game

A key challenge in the management of ecosystem services involves weighing up the trade-offs between these ecosystem services and who benefits from them. In mountainous zones, new trade-offs between ecosystem services emerge due to shifts in farming practices and their consequences on the landscapes (land abandonment and intensification), which is a source of debate and controversy between local stakeholders. To help stakeholders tackle the challenge of decision-making around trade-offs, this study tested the use of a role-playing game based on the concept of ecosystem services to facilitate the process through social learning. The game SECOLOZ was designed in cooperation with local stakeholders to explore the impacts of three farming practices (rock removal, ploughing of meadow, and pasturing) on trade-offs among ecosystem services. The game was played with various local stakeholders in the Mont Lozère, France. We found that this experience increased awareness of interdependencies, encouraged mutual understanding, improved the ability to deal with uncertainties, and fostered the exploration of innovative methods of governance. The outcomes confirm that the ecosystem service concept can be successfully used in a role-playing game process and that it significantly contributes to social learning.

Would you Make the Right Decision? – Decision Making Biases in Economy - Related Dilemmas

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-66
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Gödör ◽  
Georgina Szabó
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Framing Effect ◽  
Economic Knowledge ◽  
Bank Account ◽  
Financial Decisions ◽  
Hungarian Population ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Right ◽  
Decision Making Biases

Abstract As they say, money can’t buy happiness. However, the lack of it can make people’s lives much harder. From the moment we open our first bank account, we have to make lots of financial decisions in our life. Should I save some money or should I spend it? Is it a good idea to ask for a loan? How to invest my money? When we make such decisions, unfortunately we sometimes make mistakes, too. In this study, we selected seven common decision making biases - anchoring and adjustment, overconfidence, high optimism, the law of small numbers, framing effect, disposition effect and gambler’s fallacy – and tested them on the Hungarian population via an online survey. In the focus of our study was the question whether the presence of economic knowledge helps people make better decisions? The decision making biases found in literature mostly appeared in the sample as well. It proves that people do apply them when making decisions and in certain cases this could result in serious and costly errors. That’s why it would be absolutely important for people to learn about them, thus increasing their awareness and attention when making decisions. Furthermore, in our research we did find some connection between decisions and the knowledge of economics, people with some knowledge of economics opted for the better solution in bigger proportion

The transformation of the decision-making process on the part of economic agents influenced by social constraints

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 1202-1222
Author(s):  
M.V. Grechko ◽  
L.A. Kobina ◽  
S.A. Goncharenko
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Consumer Choice ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Economic Knowledge ◽  
Economic Agents ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Contextual Environment ◽  
Economic Constraints ◽  
External Signals

Subject. The article focuses on the decision-making mechanism used by economic agents given the existing social constraints. Objectives. We devise applied toolkit to study how socio-economic constraints transform the decision-making mechanism used by economic agents. Methods. The study involves means of the expert survey, the method that streamlines economic knowledge. Results. Social constraints are illustrated to influence the decision-making mechanism used by economic agents, assuming that the individual mind relies on specific mechanisms to make judgments and decisions. Generally, the mechanisms are very useful, however they may generate serious errors during the decision-making process. Given the social constraints, economic agents were found to follow four mental models to make their decisions in case of the full or partial uncertainty, i.e. the representative relevance, accessibility, relations, heuristics (modeling). Conclusions and Relevance. The scientific ideas herein show that the inner architecture of a choice an individual makes determines his or her decisions. The decisions often depend on the contextual environment that gives external signals perceived by the individual while evaluating alternative ways. The findings can possibly be used as a mechanism to manage the consumer choice.

Communicative Transformation of Professional Values of Modern Scientific Communities

Communicology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-24
Author(s):  
A.S. Proskurina
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Professional Ethics ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Professional Values ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Scientific Communities ◽  
Neoliberal Reforms ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
The Relationship

Today ethics is embodied not only in day-to-day life, but also in the communication that surrounds it. The study of communication in professional communities makes it possible to determine the relationship between declared and practically embodied values in work. Ethical attitudes are not only postulates embedded in ethical codes, but also principles of interaction embodied in the construction of the information space and decision-making. Features of modern communications influence the way professional ethics is structured, which, in turn, affects its content and practical implementation. The communication through the Internet makes scientific work performative, filling it with symbols and labels. Increasingly, communication practices have to be carried out around indicators, and thus communication becomes a conductor of neoliberal reforms in scientific work. Therefore, the consequence of modern forms of communication is the forced utilitarianism of ethics associated with the need to compete in the “scientific market”. The article suggests possible ways to overcome the contradictions of communicative transformations of professional values.

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