Participatory mapping for integrating ecosystem services valuation in fire risk assessment: a methodological proposal from an Italian alpine valley case study.

Abstract

Climate change and rural abandonment are exacerbating fire risk in alpine valleys. The analysis of the local socio-ecological system dynamics and of the community’s perspective is crucial in the assessment of fire risk. This work presents the proposal of a methodology to map fire risk through the involvement of local stakeholders in a multi-step participatory approach, which is currently being tested in an alpine case study. The methodology focuses on the risk of losing cultural ecosystem services, combining quantitative analysis with interviews, game sessions and participatory mapping. The results couple the cartographic output with social learning and insights for guiding the future development of community shared prevention strategies