Linking equity, power, and stakeholders’ roles in relation to ecosystem services

The issues of power and equity are gaining attention in research on ecosystem services (ESs). Stakeholders benefiting from ESs are not necessarily able or authorized to participate in ES management. Thus, we have proposed an analytical framework to identify and qualify stakeholders' roles in relation to ES flows. Building on existing frameworks in the ES literature, we aimed to unravel the different direct and indirect management contributions to ES flows and link them to ES benefits. Direct management targets the functioning of ecosystems, the flows of services, and the benefits received by society, whereas indirect management facilitates, controls, or restricts the activities of direct managers. We applied this framework to the Mariño watershed (Peru) to describe stakeholders' roles using a set of 8 ESs. We have discussed the implications of our findings in terms of equity and power distribution. We conducted face-to-face semistructured interviews with representatives of 52 watershed stakeholders to understand how they managed and benefited from ESs. We used statistical analysis (permutation tests) to detect significant differences in the number of received and managed ESs among stakeholder sectors, i.e., civil society, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), business, and the public sector, and scales, from local to national levels. Indirect forms of ES management were more frequent than direct ones for all ESs. Water quantity, water quality, and agricultural production were managed by the largest number of stakeholder types. The differences in the number of stakeholder types benefiting from and managing ESs could result from intentional choices, e.g., preferences for local benefits. We also found clear differences in the identity of stakeholders who managed or benefited from ESs. Local stakeholders and the business sector benefited from a higher number of ESs, and public organizations and NGOs were most involved in ES management. More equitable governance of ESs should aim to integrate more diverse stakeholders into decision making. Further empirical research could use our framework to explore the factors determining stakeholders' roles and power distribution. There is a particular need to understand how rights, endowments, and entitlements, as well as spatial configuration, underpin inequities in different social and cultural contexts

Agroecology for food security and against climate change in Peru

[EN] This study evaluates the contribution of agroecology to food security, resilience and mitigation of climate change in family farming, in the Mariño basin (Peru). We use the three principles of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) as an analytical framework. We carry out surveys and measurements in the field, evaluating three principles, 10 criteria and 12 indicators. We found that the application ofagroecological practices improves food self-sufficiency and family income and reduces antagonisms or increases synergies between productivity and adaptation or mitigation. This suggests that agroecology can help achieve simultaneously the often-conflicting goals of Climate Smart Agriculture.[ES] Este estudio evalúa la contribución de la agroecología a la seguridad alimentaria y contra el cambio climático en la agricultura familiar en la cuenca Mariño (Perú). Utilizamos como marco analítico los tres principios de la Agricultura Climáticamente Inteligente (CSA). Realizamos encuestasy mediciones en campo, evaluando tres principios, 10 criterios y 12 indicadores. Encontramos que la aplicación de prácticas agroecológicas mejora la autosuficiencia alimentaria e ingresos familiares; asimismo, reduce los antagonismos o incrementa sinergias entre productividad y adaptación o mitigación. Ello sugiere que la agroecología puede ayudar a alcanzar simultáneamente los objetivos (amenudo conflictivos) de la CSA.Los autores agradecen al Centro para la Investigación Forestal Internacional – CIFOR por el financiamiento de la investigación.Quispe Conde, Y.; Locatelli, B.; Vallet, A.; Blas Sevillano, R. (2022). Agroecología para la seguridad alimentaria y frente al cambio climático en Perú. Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales - Agricultural and Resource Economics. 22(1):5-29. https://doi.org/10.7201/earn.2022.01.0152922

Code for the publication Vallet et al. (2023) "Knowledge coproduction to improve assessments of nature's contributions to people"

<p>This repository contains the code to reproduce the analyses presented in:<br>Vallet et al., 2023. Knowledge coproduction to improve assessments of nature's contributions to people. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14182">https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14182</a></p><p>The code is also available at this Gitlab repository: <a href="https://gitlab.dsi.universite-paris-saclay.fr/agata/medicinal_plants/medicinal_plants_coproduction">https://gitlab.dsi.universite-paris-saclay.fr/agata/medicinal_plants/medicinal_plants_coproduction</a></p&gt

Arbitrages et services écosystémiques : Des territoires aux acteurs

Ecosystems contribute to human well-being by providing multiple provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services (ES, i.e. benefits of nature to people). Even though appealing, landscape multifunctionality is challenging and conflicts may appear between competitive uses. In this PhD thesis, we analyzed tradeoffs between ES resulting from landscape configurations and their implications for multiple stakeholders. More precisely, we addressed the following questions: How do landscape configuration and evolution determine the tradeoffs between ecosystem services and their implications for multiple stakeholders? How to study the tradeoffs between ecosystem services and their implications? We mobilized interdisciplinary methods, relying on ecology, economics and sociology. We proposed a framework for analyzing temporal changes of ES and linking socio-economic drivers to ES demand at different scales. We applied it to the upper part of the Reventazón watershed in Costa Rica to reveal tradeoffs between ES. We compared different methods for assessing ES tradeoffs (correlations and production frontiers) and discuss their relevance for different decision context. Finally, we highlighted the tradeoffs between stakeholders by analyzing the differentiated distribution of ES benefits and participation in the governance of ES in the Mariño watershed (Peru)Les écosystèmes participent au bien-être des populations au travers de multiples services d’approvisionnement, de régulation et culturels. Un territoire ne peut pas forcément offrir tous ces services écosystémiques (SE) simultanément et à tous. Des conflits d’usage peuvent apparaitre, impliquant des arbitrages entre SE et entre acteurs. Cette thèse de doctorat propose une approche interdisciplinaire pour rendre compte de ces arbitrages. Elle vise plus précisément à répondre aux questions de recherche suivantes : Comment les configurations et les dynamiques temporelles des territoires influencent-elles les arbitrages entre SE et leurs conséquences pour les acteurs ? Comment décrire et étudier les arbitrages entre SE et leurs implications ? Les dynamiques temporelles des SE et l’effet de moteurs socio-économiques sont étudiés au Costa Rica en appliquant le cadre de la transition forestière pour révéler l’existence d’arbitrages entre SE au cours du temps. Plusieurs méthodes permettant de décrire les arbitrages entre SE (corrélations et frontières de production) sont comparées, notamment afin de discuter de leur pertinence pour différents cadres de décision. L’analyse de la distribution des bénéfices fournis par les SE et de la participation à la gestion des SE met en lumière les arbitrages entre acteurs dans le bassin du Mariño au Péro

Nonmaterial benefits obtained by people from nature in Peru: Multiple approaches for exploring different benefits and worldviews

International audienceAssessments of ecosystem services (ES) improve our understanding of social-ecological systems and can support decision-making and policy development. Integrative ES assessments are challenging because of the diversity of ES, ecosystems that supply services, and social groups that benefit from ES. Challenges are the greatest for nonmaterial benefits that people receive from nature (often called cultural ES), for example, through recreation, aesthetic experiences, spiritual enrichment, or cognitive development, particularly because of their subjectivity. As the definition of nonmaterial benefits differs between cultures and social groups, there is a need to assess cultural ES with transdisciplinary methods that recognize multiple worldviews on nature and explicitly link assessment results with the people concerned by ES. In other terms, the assessment should strongly integrate the “what” and the “for whom” questions, particularly because responses to the latter question determine how the former question should be addressed. We assessed several cultural ES related to recreation, scenic beauty and spiritual values in the Mariño watershed (Apurímac region) in Peru using several complementary methods, ranging from participatory methods (focus group discussions, interviews, and surveys) to big data modelling (analysis of geotagged pictures from the Internet). Discourse analysis applied to interview content allowed to understand the diversity of views on the nonmaterial interactions between people and ecosystems and helped us develop a framework for analyzing such interactions. Surveys showed what landscape or ecosystem attributes explained cultural ES, for example aesthetic preferences for certain landscape elements, and how ES perceptions differed among different social groups (e.g. by gender, age, and origin). The analysis of geotagged data from the Internet also revealed preferences on ES attributes and the location of ecosystem providing high levels of nonmaterial benefits. Results allow to discuss the complementary of different approaches for assessing ES related to recreation, scenic beauty and spiritual values

Ecosystem service tradeoffs and ecological-economic production possibilities frontier: a case study in Costa Rica

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Contribution of wild plants to human well-being in Apurimac, Peru: An ecosystem service perspective

International audienceResearch efforts are unevenly distributed between categories of ecosystem services, with regulating services receiving more interest from scientists than provisioning and cultural services. Whereas food provision is the most commonly studied provisioning services, products collected from ecosystems for medicinal and aromatic purposes are overlooked. Ethnopharmacologists have studied the contribution of wild plants to human well-being, but there have been few attempts to relate this contribution to the concept of ecosystem services. Existing studies highlighted the fact that the poorest populations are the most dependent on biological products for their two contributions to human health (medicine) and livelihoods (incomes through medicinal product trade). In developing countries, the cost and the accessibility of formal health care systems explains the use of alternative medicine and medicinal plants even though it has been observed that people may also prefer traditional medicine for cultural, religious or spiritual reasons. Plant collector are often rural dwellers that are economically marginalized, such as landless people or women. Using semi-structured interviews and participative workshops, we identified the most used wild medicinal plants in two watersheds of Apurimac region, Peru. We analyzed their distribution and harvesting patterns (maps of ecosystem service supply or use) and we described their uses and contributions to different component of well-being. Results showed that most people collected wild plants for medicinal purposes and that more than 80% of interviewees had a strong to medium economic dependence to plant harvesting. These elements offer interesting insight for local decision-makers since a restriction or control of harvest could deeply affect livelihoods with high economic dependence. Small-scale cultivation and the diffusion of sustainable harvesting practices could be considered as alternative strategies for wild plant conservation

Analyzing and mapping cultural ecosystem services with multiple integrated approaches: comparing methods and information sources in Peru

International audienceAssessment of ecosystem services (ES) can improve decision-making and policy development on land use and the environment. As the determinants of supply and demand for ES are spatially variable, ES assessments often need to be spatially explicit. ES mapping has gained increasing attention in research and has been used to identify priority areas for ES provision or with most pressing threats on ES. Mapping can be combined with scenarios of environmental, political, social or economic to investigate future ES changes, define sensitive areas to change and estimate the impact of changes on society. ES mapping is more often applied to provisioning and regulation services rather than cultural services. Among cultural ES (e.g., scenic beauty, recreation, spiritual, heritage, etc.), the recreation-related ES are the most often mapped because they are relatively simple to quantify (e.g., based on site visits), compared to other cultural services whose assessment require to understand personal preferences, beliefs or spiritual values (e.g., aesthetics or sense of place). We assessed several cultural ES related to recreation, scenic beauty and spiritual values in the Mariño watershed (Apurímac region) in Peru using several methods with a focus on spatial variations. We used participatory mapping methods during workshops and interviews to understand the spatial distribution of the supply and use of ES. We also used surveys to analyze what landscape or ecosystem attributes explain cultural ES, for example aesthetic preferences for certain landscape elements. We then used those attributes to map ES supply and we compared the maps produced by the two approaches (direct participatory mapping vs. mapping with attributes). We also compared differences in ES maps resulting from different information sources and stakeholders. Results allow to discuss the pros and cons of different approaches applied to ES related to recreation, scenic beauty and spiritual values

Social networks and governance of ecosystem services: Power asymmetries among local beneficiaries and institutions at multiple levels

International audienceAnalyzing how humans benefit from ecosystems and understanding how benefits relate to ecosystem governance structures are high priority objectives of socio-ecological research. Several frameworks describing the delivery of ecosystem services (ES) have been proposed, and recently, an increasing attention is being given to the social component (i.e. the beneficiaries) of ES. Stakeholders do not access ES equally and consequently do not benefit the same way from ecosystems. Similarly stakeholders and institutions (with different mandates and governance levels, from local and national) do not contribute equally to ecosystem management and governance. Power relationships have an important role in ES tradeoffs. While there is an important body of literature dealing with power relationships and the access to natural resources, the concept of ES remains poorly related to those questions of equity and environmental justice. However, identifying power relationships is crucial to highlight the mismatch between stakeholders that highly depend on ES but that are excluded from their management and to design sustainable environmental policies that reduce social inequalities. This study aims to investigate the relationships between ES and stakeholders (including individuals and local to national institutions) in a Peruvian watershed. Relevant stakeholders were identified during focus groups. Two-mode Social Network Analysis was conducted based on 65 semi-structured interviews. They informed us about stakeholders-ES interactions related to benefits received from ES (use and exclusion) and influence on ES (positive or negative effect on their level). Network structural properties were computed to analyze the nature and intensity of relationships. Results showed that stakeholders were clustered regarding the ES they interacted with. There was a mismatch between stakeholders depending on ES and stakeholders managing them. This study underline the importance of integrating such power asymmetries in environmental and socio-economic policies since stakeholders that strongly depend on ES are also likely to be deeply affected by global changes (climate change, economic transformation, increase of population, etc.)

Analyser des services écosystémiques pour gérer des territoires

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