Unravelling Diverse Values of Ecosystem Services: A Socio-Cultural Valuation Using Q Methodology in Messenia, Greece

People perceive the importance of benefits from ecosystem services in different ways, depending on their values, beliefs, and needs. Acknowledging and integrating this diversity into decision-making processes can support informed natural resource management. Our empirical study unpicks the multiple ways stakeholder groups perceive the benefits derived from wetland ecosystem services (WES) in the area surrounding the “Gialova” coastal wetland in Messenia, Greece. The inhabitants from this region benefit from a range of WES, and most livelihoods are closely linked to agriculture and tourism. We aim to understand the patterns in commonly held stakeholder views on WES using “Q methodology”, a participatory mixed-methods approach. We identified five distinct perspectives on WES from a sample of 32 stakeholders. Alongside diverse perceptions of the relative importance of different WES, we observed a range of explanations of why certain WES are important and analyzed these through the lens of “value pluralism”. This identified tension between relational and instrumental values. Such analyses move beyond ecosystem service identification towards an understanding of value justifications and conflicts, and can support the deliberation of conflicted views, and policy design in alignment with people’s values.

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Revealing Salient Aquatic Ecosystem Services Bundles: A Q-Methodology Application in South Africa

10.21203/rs.3.rs-990434/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Damien Jourdain ◽

Namakando Namakando ◽

Eric Dada Mungatana ◽

Alisher Mirzabaev ◽

Georgina Njiraini

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Q Methodology ◽

Qualitative Methodology ◽

Water Governance ◽

Wicked Problem ◽

Stakeholder Groups ◽

Stakeholder Perspectives ◽

Water Users ◽

Infrastructure Investments

Abstract Preserving water quality, which has at least four of the ten characteristics of a “wicked problem”, is fundamental for economic development, ecosystems function, and human wellbeing. Consequently, identifying suitable public policies or technological solutions that can maintain or restore affected ecosystems, especially in river catchments, is a huge challenge. Understanding diverse stakeholder perspectives on important water related ecosystem services is critical to improving water governance and quality. This study uses the Q-methodology to identify and analyze perspectives about water-related ecosystem services in the Olifants river catchment, one of the most important and polluted in South Africa, across six diverse stakeholder groups competing for its limited water resources. The Q is a semi-qualitative methodology that can systematically recover detailed views of the subjective perceptions diverse stakeholder groups hold on a given topic. Our results suggest existence of three significant and conflicting perspectives. The “conservationists” privilege regulation and supporting services, the “water users” give highest priority to water for domestic and other private uses, while the “planners” rank mastering the environment for societal benefits highest. Equally importantly, our results also suggest solutions like ecological infrastructure investments, which deliver important services for some stakeholders without compromising the welfare of those who hold neutral perspectives towards them.

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Ecosystem Services as a Metaphor in Environmental Law

The University of Queensland Law Journal ◽

10.38127/uqlj.v39i3.5663 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 525-548

Author(s):

Justine Bell-James

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Coastal Wetland ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Intrinsic Value ◽

Value Of Nature ◽

Commodification Of Nature

The ecosystem services concept is a useful tool in environmental law, as it allows nature to be considered on the same plane of comparison as proposed development. However, the concept has received significant criticism, with many critics arguing that nature should be valued for its intrinsic worth. This article synthesises the ethical objections to the ecosystem services concept, distinguishing objections to the concept itself, and objections to the commodification of nature. It considers how the concept has been used in Australian environmental law to date, drawing on examples from the coastal wetland context. It concludes that most applications have not involved commodification, and have incorporated notions of intrinsic value. It concludes with some observations for future progress in this field, considering how the ecosystem services concept can be balanced with concerns for respecting the intrinsic value of nature.

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Valuing Ecosystem Services for Coastal Wetland Protection and Restoration: Progress and Challenges

Resources ◽

10.3390/resources2030213 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 213-230 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

Edward Barbier

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Coastal Wetland ◽

Wetland Protection

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Novel approaches to evaluate sustainability of pasture-based livestock systems

Advances in Animal Biosciences ◽

10.1017/s2040470016000108 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 185-190

Author(s):

A. Bernués

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Public Goods ◽

Policy Design ◽

Economic Value ◽

Market Price ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Livestock Farming ◽

Livestock Farming Systems ◽

Livestock Systems

Pasture-based livestock systems, often located in High Value Nature farmland areas, hold the greatest potential to deliver public goods across European agricultural systems. They play an important role in preserving agricultural landscapes, farmland biodiversity, cultural heritage, and in sustaining rural development. However, many of these functions are ignored in evaluation frameworks because public goods do not have market price and are often ignored in policy design, so farmers do not get the appropriate incentives to provide them. Different conceptual frameworks can be utilized to evaluate the multiple functions or services of these systems: Multifunctional Agriculture, Ecosystem Services, and Total Economic Value. We analyze the common characteristics of these concepts (e.g. they place human benefits and societal demands at the core of their definitions), their specificities (e.g. use of different units of analysis and spatial-temporal scales), and how they can be embedded in the wider concept of sustainability. Finally, we illustrate how the different concepts can be combined to evaluate pasture-based livestock farming systems from a socio-cultural and economic perspective. The public goods (ecosystem services) provided by representative case studies in Mediterranean and Nordic regions are quantified (also in monetary terms) under different environmental/policy scenarios. The results show that there is a clear underestimation of the socio-cultural and economic values of ecosystem services provided by these farming systems. They also show that the social welfare loss linked to further abandonment of livestock farming, and the associated environmental degradation, is very large. From a societal perspective, it is necessary to jointly measure the biophysical, socio-cultural and monetary values of ecosystem services (market and nonmarket) in order to promote the sustainability of pasture-based livestock systems.

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Where Do Ecosystem Services Come From? Assessing and Mapping Stakeholder Perceptions on Water Ecosystem Services in the Muga River Basin (Catalonia, Spain)

Land ◽

10.3390/land9100385 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 385

Author(s):

Enrica Garau ◽

Josep Vila-Subiros ◽

Josep Pueyo-Ros ◽

Anna Ribas Palom

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

River Basin ◽

Water Availability ◽

Mediterranean Basin ◽

Rainfall Variability ◽

Complex Situation ◽

Stakeholder Groups ◽

Key Stakeholders ◽

Water Ecosystem ◽

The Mediterranean Basin

Reductions in water availability and increasing rainfall variability are generating a narrative of growing competition for water in the Mediterranean basin. In this article, we explore the distribution and importance of water resources in the Muga River Basin (Catalonia, Spain) based on key stakeholders’ perceptions. We performed a sociocultural evaluation of the main water ecosystem services in the region through stakeholder interviews and participatory mapping. The basin was generally perceived as a hotspot of ecosystem services, but we detected varying opinions and considerable differences in the perceptions of importance and spatial distribution of water ecosystem services. These discrepancies were linked to the varying levels of stakeholders’ dependence on water. Our findings are important for contributing to correct water planning and management in the river basin, which is a complex water social system marked by conflicts between different stakeholder groups vying for the same resource. This complex situation requires bottom-up strategies to create transparent, participatory decision-making models.

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Stakeholders’ Perspectives to Support the Integration of Ecosystem Services in Spatial Planning in Switzerland

Environments ◽

10.3390/environments6080088 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (8) ◽

pp. 88 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Rémi Jaligot ◽

Jérôme Chenal

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Spatial Planning ◽

Food Production ◽

Q Methodology ◽

Arable Land ◽

Paradigm Change ◽

Biological Functions ◽

Stakeholder Perspectives ◽

Land Use And Management ◽

Ecosystem Multifunctionality

Integrating the concept of ecosystem services (ES) into spatial planning is an opportunity to make land use and management choices that maximize the delivery of multiple ES. The assessment of social demand can be useful for the identification of priority areas or potential conflicts among stakeholders. We used Q-methodology to understand stakeholder perspectives on ES to facilitate their integration into spatial planning in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Three perspectives, utilitarian, cultural and protective, were analyzed and used to discuss potential implications for spatial planning. First, ecosystem multifunctionality and synergies among ES should be emphasized. Second, the food production system should move away from a productive-only approach, to a system that protects soils and their functions. Providing a paradigm change, arable land could be protected to the same level as forests and farmers could be incentivized further to change their practices. Finally, our findings show a potential over-interpretation of the importance of cultural ES in current planning policies, as most participants would be ready to change their behaviors to preserve biological functions. It would be useful to conduct a similar study in other cantons to ensure that the results are fully representative of the current situation in Switzerland.

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Trust in Community-Engaged Research Partnerships: A Methodological Overview of Designing a Multisite Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Initiative

Evaluation & the Health Professions ◽

10.1177/0163278718819719 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 180-192

Author(s):

Mimi M. Kim ◽

Ann Cheney ◽

Anita Black ◽

Roland J. Thorpe ◽

Crystal Wiley Cene ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Concept Mapping ◽

Academic Research ◽

Future Research ◽

Translational Science ◽

Community Health Care ◽

Minority Communities ◽

Research Partnerships ◽

Mixed Methods Approach ◽

Community Engaged Research ◽

Stakeholder Groups

Community-engaged research (CEnR) builds on the strengths of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) framework to address health in underserved and minority communities. There is a paucity of studies that identify the process from which trust develops in CEnR partnerships. This study responds to the need for empirical investigation of building and maintaining trust from a multistakeholder perspective. We conducted a multi-institutional pilot study using concept mapping with to better understand how trust, a critical outcome of CEnR partnerships, can act as “social capital.” Concept mapping was used to collect data from the three stakeholder groups: community, health-care, and academic research partners across three CTSAs. Concept mapping is a mixed-methods approach that allows participants to brainstorm and identify factors that contribute to a concept and describe ways in which those factors relate to each other. This study offers important insights on developing an initial set of trust measures that can be used across CTSAs to understand differences and similarities in conceptualization of trust among key stakeholder groups, track changes in public trust in research, identify both positive and negative aspects of trust, identify characteristics that maintain trust, and inform the direction for future research.

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Using the Web for Enhancing Decision-Making

Managing IT in Government, Business & Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-93177-740-7.ch018 ◽

2003 ◽

pp. 259-276

Author(s):

David King

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Critical Examination ◽

Stakeholder Groups ◽

Project Failures ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Assessment And Monitoring ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

Official Sources ◽

The Web

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the use of the Internet to improve the reliability of information supplied to the United Nations (UN) from official sources in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). The focus of the chapter is that aid project failures in SSA need efficient project management, effective communication, and information openness to achieve socio-economic growth. The use of the Internet’s potential(s) in a way that will benefit society at large and in particular vulnerable groups needs critical examination within a wider framework of the actual needs and existing facilities of these communities. An interpretive evidence data collection method is used through questioning and interviews with stakeholder groups, validated by observation where possible. The importance of aid project performance, assessment, and monitoring in SSA is emphasised. The significance of public participation in decision-making processes is explored. This research also highlights the pragmatics of giving local people an international voice.

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Program Outcomes of Payments for Watershed Services in Brazilian Atlantic Forest: How to Evaluate to Improve Decision-Making and the Socio-Environmental Benefits

Water ◽

10.3390/w12092441 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 2441

Author(s):

Flávio Monteiro dos Santos ◽

Marcondes Coelho-Junior ◽

Jéssica Chaves Cardoso ◽

Vanessa Basso ◽

André de Paula Marques ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Evaluation Methodology ◽

Payments For Ecosystem Services ◽

Program Outcomes ◽

Efficiency Performance ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Watershed Services ◽

Paraíba Do Sul River

In 2014, the Paraíba do Sul River Basin Integration Committee (CEIVAP) established its Pilot Program of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), focusing on water resources. The projects from this program share the same goal: to disseminate the use of PES as a tool for land management in watersheds. Contemplating 11 municipalities, including 84 landowners, conserving 718.63 ha and restoring 188.58 ha, this program was concluded in April 2020. Reviewing its historical and contextualizing features, we have observed that the outcomes from this program extend beyond these numbers. Here, we propose an evaluation methodology comparing the efficiency, performance, and impact of the PES projects. Based on new indicators that are easy to measure, we have identified key elements that have asymmetrically affected the projects. The complexity of the project scope and the execution of high-cost, and risky interventions on rural properties, have resulted in expensive projects with little tangible outputs. Our results support the upgrade of public policy for investment in ecosystem services by CEIVAP in the Paraíba do Sul watershed. In addition, our results can be more successful by improving the decision-making processes for similar projects in other watersheds.

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