What can conservation strategies learn from the ecosystem services approach? Insights from ecosystem assessments in two Spanish protected areas

Biodiversity conservation strategies that overlook the interests of local people are prone to create conflicts. The ecosystem service approach holds potential for more comprehensively integrating the social dimension into decision-making in protected areas, but its implementation in conservation policies is still in its infancy. This research assesses the extent to which ecosystem services have been implemented in conservation strategies in protected areas. The study was conducted in two outstanding Spanish protected areas, covering a wetland (Doñana Natural and National Parks) and a Mediterranean mountain system (Sierra Nevada Natural and National Parks). Data were collected from deliberative workshops with managers and researchers, face-to-face surveys with users and a review of management plans. We found that, beyond intrinsic values of ecosystems and biodiversity, these areas provide multiple ecosystem services that deserve further attention to ensure their sustained delivery. Our research shows that environmental managers and researchers have different perceptions and priorities regarding ecosystem services management compared with ecosystem service users. Environmental managers and researchers in both protected areas perceived that human-nature relationships and ecosystem services are already widely included in management plans, if often not explicitly. We found that different ecosystem service categories receive uneven attention in management plans. These contained measures to manage provisioning and cultural services whereas measures for managing regulating services were perceived to be largely absent. We conclude by summarizing insights on how the ecosystem service approach may enhance the consideration of social interests in the management of management protected areas.     

Residents’ attitudes toward three protected areas in southwestern Nepal

Understanding people’s beliefs and attitudes toward protected areas is a key factor in developing successful management plans to conserve those areas over the long-term. Yet, most of the emphasis in understanding people’s perceptions has been on the conflicts that exist between people and protected areas, such as loss of traditional extraction access or damage by wildlife to crops and livestock. This study addresses the need to explore people’s attitudes toward protected areas in a way that allows them to define and describe the values they hold toward the areas and the relevant issues and concepts. Three contrasting protected areas in the southwestern region of Nepal were chosen for this study to gain a broad representation of the values people hold toward different types of protected areas. Three themes emerged that describe the positive perceptions residents have: recreation/esthetics, environmental preservation, and economic benefits. Four themes emerged that describe the negative perceptions: negative economic impacts, belief that benefits are for the government or foreigners, fear of wildlife, and negative interactions with park guards. People’s perceptions are affected by different aspects of the areas, including the size of the area and people’s access to them, management objectives, history, and tourism. The diversity of these perceptions suggests that conservation strategies should recognize both positive and negative perceptions and work to foster and integrate diverse values in order to more accurately reflect the reality and complexity of people’s lives.     

Integrating multiple wilderness values into a decision-making model for Denali National Park and Preserve

Decisions about how to manage wilderness recreation in Denali National Park and Preserve require managers to integrate a diverse set of public values, a process that typically involves balancing tradeoffs among multiple and often competing values. While decisions about how to manage wilderness are often contentious, previous research suggests that if managers are able to predict public support for various management alternatives the decisions become more tractable. This study develops a decision-making model that integrates social, resource, and managerial values associated with the Denali wilderness experience. Specifically, stated choice analysis is used to evaluate the choices overnight wilderness visitors make when faced with hypothetical tradeoffs among the conditions of social, resource, and management attributes of the Denali wilderness. Study findings offer an empirical approach for predicting and evaluating the likelihood of public support for Denali wilderness management alternatives.     

Limitations of Protected Areas Zoning in Mediterranean Cultural Landscapes Under the Ecosystem Services Approach

Protected areas have been created worldwide to set apart certain areas from land-use transformation. The biodiversity and ecosystems protected by these areas deliver several ecosystem services. Recently, besides increasing global protected coverage, there has been a growing demand to assess the adequacy of protected areas management. In this study, we assessed how the management of protected areas can deal with ecosystem services taking as example the Doñana and Sierra Nevada protected areas (Spain). For that aim we analyzed the protected area management plans, mapped seven ecosystem services, and assessed how they are affected by protected area zoning and land-use intensity. We found that although provisioning and cultural services are included in the management plans of the protected areas under a different terminology, regulating services are barely addressed. Ecosystem service delivery varies depending on several factors including the protection category of the protected areas (protection intensity), land-use intensity and geomorphological factors, among others. Therefore, we discuss that integrating ecosystem services in protected area management requires dealing with complexity, necessitating the establishment of specific goals for ecosystem service delivery, which include ecosystem service synergies and trade-offs.     

First Nations Values in Protected Area Governance: Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

Over the past few decades there has been increasing attention paid to ‘shared’ forms of governance and to the creation of new protected areas (PAs) that are designed to address ‘non-biological’ goals and values. The rationale for these initiatives has, in part, been based on the belief that well-designed systems of protected area governance will help to deliver desired outcomes and meet linked sociocultural, economic and environmental objectives. Addressing these questions has become increasingly important in British Columbia, where a number of First Nations are asserting increasing control over existing state-run protected areas, as well as establishing new protected areas and designing governance systems for them that deliver outcomes consonant with cultural beliefs, values and goals. This paper reports on an in-depth case study of the Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks and the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, with a focus on comparing how these physically adjacent protected areas with different objectives each attempt to meaningfully engage the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in PA governance.     

Conflict in Protected Areas: Who Says Co-Management Does Not Work?

Natural resource-related conflicts can be extremely destructive and undermine environmental protection. Since the 1990s co-management schemes, whereby the management of resources is shared by public and/or private sector stakeholders, have been a main strategy for reducing these conflicts worldwide. Despite initial high hopes, in recent years co-management has been perceived as falling short of expectations. However, systematic assessments of its role in conflict prevention or mitigation are non-existent. Interviews with 584 residents from ten protected areas in Colombia revealed that co-management can be successful in reducing conflict at grassroots level, as long as some critical enabling conditions, such as effective participation in the co-management process, are fulfilled not only on paper but also by praxis. We hope these findings will re-incentivize global efforts to make co-management work in protected areas and other common pool resource contexts, such as fisheries, agriculture, forestry and water management.     

Environmental education indicators system for protected areas management

A new perspective for the management effectiveness of protected areas needs the inclusion of social data for decision-making. In this process, environmental education (EE) plays a key role in catalyzing biological and social issues in the management process, but there are scarce data about this relationship. The objective of this paper is to develop, from an institutional bottom-up perspective, a proposal for a set of EE indicators that is easy to use by practitioners to measure the response of the EE program in relation to the conservation objectives of protected areas management plans. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques, a case study at the National Parks System of Colombia is presented, which is divided in five stages: 1. An EE evaluation survey on a national scale. 2. An interview phase with EE practitioners and NGOs. 3. EE objectives categorization. 4. Systematization process and 5. Focus group to evaluate the proposed set of indicators. A set of 5 EE indicators was developed to fulfill the identified needs: appropriation of information, articulation, participation quality, program implementation and continuity of EE process. We expect that this new approach for EE evaluation will hopefully be adopted in the update of management plans, as an innovative tool that contributes to the effectiveness assessment of protected areas, integrating a more social and participative focus.     

Monitoring the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) framework using evaluation of effectiveness methods. The Italian case

Protected areas play an important role in the preservation and implementation of bold environmental agreements, among which the 20 Aichi Targets (Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, COP 10), with their focus on effective management systems supporting the conservation of biodiversity and eco-system services (Aichi Biodiversity Target 11). The aim of this paper is to illustrate the MEVAP (Monitoring and EValuation of Protected Areas) methodology, Italy's contribution to the topic of evaluating the effectiveness of protected areas within the international landscape (WDPA–IUCN, World Database on Protected Areas – Union for Conservation of Nature). The purpose of MEVAP is to provide a periodical review procedure as part of the process to improve the management of protected areas. Its starting point is the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data pertinent to the environmental, social and economic aspects of protected areas and to their governance.This paper illustrates the results obtained using the MEVAP method and its application to several clusters of Italian national parks. While highlighting the potential of this method, the document also proposes an initial assessment of the environmental, social and economical performance of protected areas and how performance is connected to its governance.Underpinning the study is the need to expand the use of evaluation practices and to spur scientific debate in the direction of widely spread adaptive management methods, with a view to optimising policies and management procedures and, therefore, achieving the protection targets that must be met by protected areas through their institutions.     

Integrated conservation and development: evaluating a community-based marine protected area project for equality of socioeconomic impacts

Despite the prevalence of protected areas, evidence of their impacts on people is weak and remains hotly contested in conservation policy. A key question in this debate is whether socioeconomic impacts vary according to social subgroup. Given that social inequity can create conflict and impede poverty reduction, understanding how protected areas differentially affect people is critical to designing them to achieve social and biological goals. Understanding heterogeneous responses to protected areas can improve targeting of management activities and help elucidate the pathways through which impacts of protected areas occur. Here, we assessed whether the socioeconomic impacts of marine protected areas (MPAs)—designed to achieve goals for both conservation and poverty alleviation—differed according to age, gender or religion in associated villages in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Using data from pre-, mid- and post-implementation of the MPAs for control and project villages, we found little empirical evidence that impacts on five key socioeconomic indicators related to poverty differed according to social subgroup. We found suggestive empirical evidence that the effect of the MPAs on environmental knowledge differed by age and religion; over the medium and long terms, younger people and Muslims showed greater improvements compared with older people and Christians, respectively.     

The other side of the border: Austrian local residents’ attitudes towards the neighbouring Czech Šumava National Park

Attitudes towards protected areas are seen as a key factor in influencing their success. While the majority of park–people relation research has addressed local residents’ attitudes towards protected areas in their own country, analyses on their attitudes towards a neighbouring national park on the other side of the border have rarely been carried out. This study investigated the attitudes of local residents in Upper Austria towards the Czech ?umava National Park. In 2008, residents (N = 468) of four rural communities bordering the ?umava National Park answered a mailed questionnaire. Compared to national parks in general, the ?umava National Park was perceived as not providing as many ecological, social, and economic benefits as others. Psychological reactance, past visits to the ?umava National Park, and attitudes towards landscape change and national parks in general predicted attitudes towards the ?umava National Park, while group membership, except for that of being a farmer, was not significant. Variables that have been previously identified as influencing the attitudes of local residents towards protected areas also seem to be relevant for protected areas on the other side of the border, while items addressing local trans-border issues and group membership appear to be less important. Management implications are discussed.     

Wildcat population density in NE Portugal: A regional stronghold for a nationally threatened felid

Population density data on depleted and endangered wildlife species are essential to assure their effective management and, ultimately, conservation. The European wildcat is an elusive and threatened species inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula, with fragmented populations and living in low densities. We fitted spatial capture–recapture models on camera-trap data, to provide the first estimate of wildcat density for Portugal and assess the most influential drivers determining it. The study was implemented in Montesinho Natural Park (NE Portugal), where we identified nine individuals, over a total effort of 3,477 trap-nights. The mean density estimate was 0.032 ± 0.012 wildcat/km², and density tended to increase with distance to humanized areas, often linked to lower human disturbance and domestic cat presence, with forest and herbaceous vegetation cover and with European rabbit abundance. Although, this density estimate is within the range of values estimated for protected areas elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula, our estimates are low at the European level. When put in context, our results highlight that European wildcats may be living in low population densities across the Iberian Mediterranean biogeographic region. No phenotypic domestic or hybrid cats were detected, suggesting potentially low admixture rates between the two species, although genetic sampling would be required to corroborate this assertion. We provide evidence that Montesinho Natural Park may be a suitable area to host a healthy wildcat population, and thus be an important protected area in this species' conservation context.     

Integration of preference heterogeneity into sustainable nature conservation: From practice to policy

The aim of this work is to assess and understand the social drivers that determine the willingness to pay for sustainable management measures to preserve a Natura 2000 area. These social drivers of the support for nature conservation were then included in the design of economic instrument to support nature conservation. In a contingent valuation exercise, the local population in the Cabezo de la Jara and Rambla de Nogalte protected areas (SE Spain) stated their willingness to pay for sustainable management measures aimed at their conservation. Among the socio-demographics, environmental attitudes and experiential drivers, income and environmental commitment were found to be the only significant drivers in support of nature conservation, revealing preference heterogeneity. Economic instruments, specifically green taxes and user fees, are proposed, taking into account the sources of heterogeneity in order to ensure financial support for the measures and greater social acceptability. Hence, our research adds to the existing literature through the design of an economic instrument to support nature conservation, considering preference heterogeneity.     

Public Values for River Restoration Options on the Middle Rio Grande

River restoration is a widespread phenomenon. This reflects strong public values for conservation, though missing are studies explicitly justifying restoration expenditures. Public restoration benefits are not well quantified, nor are public preferences among diverse activities falling into the broad category “restoration.” Our study estimates public values for restoration on the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico. Stakeholder meetings and public focus groups guided development of a restoration survey mailed to Albuquerque area households. Four restoration categories were defined: fish and wildlife; vegetation density; tree type; and natural river processes. Survey responses supplied data for both choice experiment (CE) and contingent valuation (CV) analyses, two established environmental economics techniques for quantifying public benefits of conservation policies. Full restoration benefits are estimated at over $150 per household per year via the CE and at nearly $50 per household per year via CV. The CE allows value disaggregation among different restoration categories. The most highly valued category was tree type, meaning reestablishing native tree dominance for such species as Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and eradicating non‐native trees such as Saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissma). The high public values we have found for restoration offer economic justification for intensive riparian management, particularly native plant‐based restoration in the Southwest.     

Additional considerations for gray wolf management after their removal from Endangered Species Act protections

Mech (2010) provided a review of options involving regulated, public hunting of gray wolves (Canis lupus) when states regain control of wolf management. We agree with his general conclusion that the use of lethal management should focus more in areas of conflict and less in wilderness areas, especially near protected places like national parks. Here, we expand on Mech's work and provide additional considerations that could be incorporated into state management plans to make them more acceptable to an increasingly diverse group of interested stakeholders, including: 1) the use of human dimensions research to understand the conditions under which stakeholders find lethal management acceptable, and to evaluate the acceptability of agency efforts to increase tolerance for wolves; 2) employing preventative measures to protect livestock and pets, especially in cases where wolf packs are highly visible to the public; and 3) selective use of sport hunting in areas where wolf impacts are deemed unacceptable. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

Seaweeds: an opportunity for wealth and sustainable livelihood for coastal communities

The European, Canadian, and Latin American seaweed industries rely on the sustainable harvesting of natural resources. As several countries wish to increase their activity, the harvest should be managed according to integrated and participatory governance regimes to ensure production within a long-term perspective. Development of regulations and directives enabling the sustainable exploitation of natural resources must therefore be brought to the national and international political agenda in order to ensure environmental, social, and economic values in the coastal areas around the world. In Europe, Portugal requires an appraisal of seaweed management plans while Norway and Canada have developed and implemented coastal management plans including well-established and sustainable exploitation of their natural seaweed resources. Whereas, in Latin America, different scenarios of seaweed exploitation can be observed; each country is however in need of long-term and ecosystem-based management plans to ensure that exploitation is sustainable. These plans are required particularly in Peru and Brazil, while Chile has succeeded in establishing a sustainable seaweed-harvesting plan for most of the economically important seaweeds. Furthermore, in both Europe and Latin America, seaweed aquaculture is at its infancy and development will have to overcome numerous challenges at different levels (i.e., technology, biology, policy). Thus, there is a need for regulations and establishment of “best practices” for seaweed harvesting, management, and cultivation. Trained human resources will also be required to provide information and education to the communities involved, to enable seaweed utilization to become a profitable business and provide better income opportunities to coastal communities.     

Conservation “identity” and marine protected areas management: A Mediterranean case study

Protection of natural environments sought through management plans varies greatly between countries; characterizing these differences and what motivates them can inform future regional and international conservation efforts. This research builds on previous work addressing the spatial distribution of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Particularly, it examines the relationship between a “protection level” (PL) score and a set of variables pertaining to each country's conservation efforts, economic conditions and human impact along the coast using regression analysis. Four sets of models demonstrated country characteristics that correlate with higher protection levels within marine protected areas (MPAs). Certain contextual factors – economic dependence on the marine environment, efforts at terrestrial conservation and greater human impact – were found to be significantly associated with higher PLs among the northern littoral countries of the Mediterranean. Such findings can inform policy makers about where efforts and investments should be directed for marine conservation.     

基于参与式制图的城市保护地生态系统文化服务价值评价——以上海共青森林公园为例

生态系统服务价值定量化评价及其空间制图可以为确定生态系统文化服务(CES)优先保护地域提供有效途径.本研究以上海共青森林公园为例,采用问卷和结构式访谈结合参与式制图(PPGIS)方法,将非货币CES价值和空间信息结合,把丰度、多样性和稀有度指数转化为空间生态综合指数,定量评价了CES价值及其空间分布,识别出优先保护地域.结果表明: 不同景观类型的CES价值分布不同,共青森林公园美学服务价值主要分布在相对开阔的草地、滨水和疏林区,滨水区具有较高的社会关系和灵感价值.多样性较高价值区主要沿湖滨水分布,而稀有度价值较高区域多分布在森林和草地区.通过对8个梯度阈值生态指数的最高值区域进行叠加,验证了25%为有效划分阈值,能够更准确划分公园CES优先保护范围.该方法引入公众参与,实现了使用者体验的空间化、定量化、类型化,建立了景观、空间、体验的地域关系,可为城市保护地优先保护地域划分及其规划管理提供重要依据.     

福建省自然保护地管理有效性评估——基于保护地快速评估和优先性确定方法

在自然保护地管理体制改革之际,对保护地开展管理有效性评价可以识别保护地面临的威胁与压力,确定保护地管理工作的优先性。研究以保护地快速评估和优先性确定方法(Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Areas Management, RAPPAM)为基础,结合福建省省情优化管理评价指标体系,对福建省9个地级市的53处自然保护地开展管理有效性评估,识别自然保护地面临的主要压力与威胁,分析保护地管理上的优劣势,并选用斯皮尔曼相关性分析,识别有利于减轻保护地威胁的相关管理环节,为福建省保护地管理工作的优先性调整提供参考。结果表明：(1)福建省自然保护地面临的主要威胁和压力依次为火灾、种养殖、虫害、环境污染和旅游,其中,环境污染与旅游对保护地的影响严重。(2)福建省自然保护地体系管理水平总体一般,存在地域性差异。自然保护地普遍存在多头管理、管理投入不足、管理实施计划缺失等问题。(3)由斯皮尔曼关联性分析可知,保护地管理过程与投入的提升有助于降低火灾、虫害、种养殖的威胁。环境污染和旅游威胁受宏观经济发展、保护地及周边用地规划影响显著。     

广西滨海湿地类自然保护区管理成效评估体系构建及应用

海洋保护区事业正处于从"重面积、重数量"向"重建设、重成效"转型的重要阶段,海洋保护区,特别是滨海湿地类保护区的管理有效性评估引起了国内外生态学家的广泛关注。根据现有评估体系中存在问题,结合广西滨海湿地类自然保护区建设及发展特点,构建了"管理机制-管理基础-管理行为-管理成效"的评估框架,通过专家咨询法、层次分析法设置形成包含4个评估要素,19个评估指标以及6个附加指标在内的评估体系。本评估体系综合考虑了保护区管理工作的产出效益,包括管控成效、生态成效和社会经济成效,在指标设计时突出了保护区的生境特点,管理人员以及社会公众的保护意愿,采用分级分值制量化指标,根据长期有效数据开展评估,适用于监测业务完善的滨海湿地类型保护区。另外,选择北仑河口国家级自然保护区进行实例验证,评估结果表明:(1)保护区指标评估分值总和78分,附加3分,综合评估分值81分,管理级别Ⅱ级,保护区管理成效良好;(2)各要素得分占比情况为:C管理行为(100%)> A管理机制(90%)> B管理基础(87%)>D管理成效(65%)。评估指标级别占比情况为:Ⅰ级(53%)>Ⅱ级(21%)>...     

Assessing the impact of reforestation on the diversity of Mediterranean terrestrial Gastropoda

In the Mediterranean basin, pine tree reforestation has been the most common management tool in restoring degraded and burnt areas, as well as for economic purposes. However, the quality of the biodiversity of these habitats has undergone little assessment. Terrestrial gastropods are suitable indicators of forest quality and long-term stability because of their strict dependence on microhabitat conditions and their slow dispersal rate. We sampled the gastropod population in a protected Mediterranean area in order to compare the species richness in seven main habitats. Holm oak wood and mixed-pine forests were the habitats with the lowest species density, and areas with a high level of heterogeneity exhibited the richest communities. In recent decades however, land abandonment and pine reforestation are leading to landscape homogeneity, which is perhaps the cause of the extinction of six open-habitat gastropod species in the Park. These results provide park authorities with insights into how to adapt management plans to enhance habitat quality for land snail and slug assemblages. More specifically, our results stress the need to create habitat heterogeneity to increase land mollusc diversity in large and continuous areas of mixed-pine forests.