A place-based participatory mapping approach for assessing cultural ecosystem services in urban green space

Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) encompass a range of social, cultural and health benefits to local communities, for example recreation, spirituality, a sense of place and local identity. However, these complex and place-specific CES are often overlooked in rapid land management decisions and assessed using broad, top–down approaches.2. We use the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment (TESSA) to examine a novel approach to rapid assessment of local CES provision using inductive, participatory methods. We combined free-listing and participatory geographic information systems (GIS)techniques to quantify and map perceptions of current CES provision of an urban green space. The results were then statistically compared with those of a proposed alternative scenario with the aim to inform future decision-making. 3. By identifying changes in the spatial hotspots of CES in our study area, we revealed aspatially-specific shift toward positive sentiment regarding several CES under the alternative state with variance across demographic and stakeholder groups. Response aggregations in areas of proposed development reveal previously unknown stakeholder preferences to local decision-makers and highlight potential trade-offs for conservation management. Free-listed responses revealed deeper insight into personal opinion and context.4. This work serves as a useful case study on how the perceptions and opinions of local people regarding local CES could be accounted for in the future planning of an urban greenspace and how thorough analysis of CES provision is important to fully-inform local-scale conservation and planning for the mutual benefit of local communities and nature

Data from: A place-based participatory mapping approach for assessing cultural ecosystem services in urban green space

1. Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) encompass a range of social, cultural and health benefits to local communities, for example recreation, spirituality, a sense of place and local identity. However, these complex and place-specific CES are often overlooked in rapid land management decisions and assessed using broad, top&ndash;down approaches. 2. We use the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment (TESSA) to examine a novel approach to rapid assessment of local CES provision using inductive, participatory methods. We combined free-listing and participatory geographic information systems (GIS) techniques to quantify and map perceptions of current CES provision of an urban green space. The results were then statistically compared with those of a proposed alternative scenario with the aim to inform future decision-making. 3. By identifying changes in the spatial hotspots of CES in our study area, we revealed a spatially-specific shift toward positive sentiment regarding several CES under the alternative state with variance across demographic and stakeholder groups. Response aggregations in areas of proposed development reveal previously unknown stakeholder preferences to local decision-makers and highlight potential trade-offs for conservation management. Free-listed responses revealed deeper insight into personal opinion and context. 4. This work serves as a useful case study on how the perceptions and opinions of local people regarding local CES could be accounted for in the future planning of an urban greenspace and how thorough analysis of CES provision is important to fully-inform local-scale conservation and planning for the mutual benefit of local communities and nature.,FreelistTextFree listing information with location by coordinates and zone of the parkParticipant DemographicsParticipant demographic information, use and perceptions of the parkParticipantDemographics.csv,</span

The economic consequences of conserving or restoring sites for nature

Nature provides many benefits for people, yet there are few data on how changes at individual sites impact the net value of ecosystem service provision. A 2002 review found only five analyses comparing the net economic benefits of conserving nature versus pursuing an alternative, more intensive human use. Here we revisit this crucial comparison, synthesising recent data from 62 sites worldwide. In 24 cases with economic estimates of services, conservation or restoration benefits (e.g. greenhouse gas regulation, flood protection) tend to outweigh those private benefits (e.g. profits from agriculture or logging) driving change to the alternative state. Net benefits rise rapidly with increasing social cost of carbon. Qualitative data from all 62 sites suggest that monetisation of additional services would further increase the difference. Although conservation and restoration did not universally provide greater net value than the alternative state, across a large, geographically and contextually diverse sample, our findings indicate that at current levels of habitat conversion, conserving and restoring sites typically benefits human prosperity.We thank Ben Balmford, Katie Bolt and James Vause for advice. AB was supported by a Royal Society Wolfson Merit award. KSHP was supported by an AXA Research Fund (Grant no. RG64520), while at the University of Cambridge