An Interdisciplinary and Multi-stakeholder Methodology to Link Ecosystem Services and Social Heterogeneity

TAPELLA E, CÁCERES D Y DÍAZ S.

Londres

Congreso; Planet under Pressure Conference 2012; 2012

IGBP, DIVERSITAS, IHDP, WCRP, ICSU

El video completo de esta presentación oral está disponible en la página web del congreso: http://view6.workcast.net/?pak=8159630153711849&cpak=5876441157257134 Otra información disponible en http://www.planetunderpressure2012.net/ Díaz et al. (2011) propose an interdisciplinary framework for the analysis of the relationships between functional diversity, ecosystem services (ES) and human actions, applicable at local scales. By using land use decisions and ES as the main links between ecological and social components, the framework serves as a transparent and flexible platform for quantifying and integrating social and ecological information and identifying potentially conflicting land uses among multiple SA. Drawing upon that general framework, we present here a more detailed description of the methods used to know how SA perceive and value ES, and how they relate them to functional biodiversity and to different land-use types. This methodology is profoundly interdisciplinary and both natural and social-science scientists participate at all stages of the research (i.e., design, implementation, analysis). Individual interviews and focal groups were the two main situations in which scientists interacted with the different SA. The main questions to answer during interviews were (a) which are the ES identified by each SA? and (b) which are the main ecological attributes that each SA relates to the identified ES. In focal groups we aimed to know (a) which are the most important ES for each SA? and which are the land-use types that best provide the selected ES? Various group techniques and methodological tools were used along the process. The information gathered during the field work was organised in matrixes and analyzed following the research questions. Interdisciplinary and multiple-stakeholder approaches are useful to understand the links between ES and social heterogeneity and to identify key land-use types and likely social conflicts