Introduction to forest and nature conservation chapter 7

chapter 7

Why is a conceptual framework important to understand complex problems?

It creates a simple presentation of a complex situation. Important for interdisciplinary research, as it provides a common structure, terminology and a shared language.

Conceptual framework

A consize summary in words or pictures of a problem/ main phenomenom and their relationship (nature-humans for example); A simple presentation of a complex situation.

Ecosystem services

benefits humans gain from ecosystems.

4 types of services

1) provisioning (materials + goods like food, raw materials, fresh water)

2) Regulating (Local climate + air quality, carbon sequestering, storage, moderation of fertility, pollination & biological pest control

3) Habitat/ supporting (habitat for species; Food, water, shelter & maintenance of genetic diversity (Biodiversity hotspots)

4) Cultural services (Non-material benefits for humans; recreation, mental + physical health, tourism, aesthetics, inspo, spiritual.

TEEB; The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Global innitiative that provides economic evaluation + assessment of ecosystem services.

Worries of some conservationists/ scholars with things like TEEB

Things like this can lead to instrumentilization or economization of nature. Focus on services/ products instead of spiritual/ intrinsic values of natures. The advocates of these innitiatives protest that they also cover this.

Social drivers (3)

1) Political (policies/laws)

2) Economical (markets/ subsidies)

3) Social (demography, migration)

Environmental drivers (3)

1) Climate

2) geology & soils

3) Hydrology

Social system organisation scales (3)

1) Individuals (humans; perceptions, interests, resources

2) groups (organised by culture/ structure (top- down or bottom-up)

3) Institutions (Organisations, rules, goverance, To achieve collective aims. Government is example, as are NGO’s).

Ecological system spatial scales (4)

1) Individual (Organisation (gene, cell, tissue, organ))

2) Population (Structure (age distribution), Dynamics (recruitment, growth, survival))

3) Community (Structure (species composition & diversity, dynamics; species interactions & succesion))

4) Ecosystem (Structure, properties, biomass, trophic levels, dynamics (processes, functioning))

How do humans modify the ecological system (2)

1) Land - use (products// benefits from use of the land + activities by humans to obtain them

2) Management (To achieve clearly specified objectives> intervention modifies the ecological system (planting a certain tree for example))

How does the ecological system delivers ecosystem services

Potential of ecosystem services = supply, then delivery (actuality), level of contribution to humans and human wellbeing.

External drivers that effect the ecosystem services (3)

1) Environmental drivers

2) Social drivers (Policies, crises, subsidies, etc.)

3) Spatial mismatch between areas of e.s. supply and demand (Rich eat a disproportioned amount of poor countries production), human activities and decisions impact the local e.s. strongly (obv…;)

IPBES; intergovernal platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services

Aims to conserve biodiversity and use it sustainably for long-term human well-being, important international policy instrument.

4 corse systems of a SES that effect each other

1) Resource systems (protected park with different species etc in it)

2) Resource units (Trees, shrubs…)

3) Governance system (Management, government)

4) Users (Individuals (that use the park for example))

Tragedy of the commons

Economic theory about shared-resource system where individual users act independently & spoil resources for common good.

Why do we analyse the SES at a landscape scale?

Because that is the level at which different stakeholders interact and where different management interventions take place.

If not organising themselves, variables for likelyhood to avoid tragedy of the commons: (8)

1) Size of the resource system

2) Production of the resource system

3) Predictability of the system dynamics

4) mobility of resource unit

5) Norms/ social capital

6) Knowledge of the SES

7) Importance of resource to users

😎 Collective choice rules

Scenario anaylsis

Possible future/ preferred future

Back-casting

Arguing backwards; how to achieve a certain scenari0! Combination of diverse disciplines is NEEDED!!!

SES

Social-ecological system, combination of inter-linked ecological system (=nature) and the social system (=Humans)