The Social Value of Ecosystem Services from the Perspectives of Different Social Actors

CACERES, D. M.

Turrialba

Workshop; Quantification of Ecosystem Services: concepts and measurement Workshop; 2014

Centro de Agricultura Tropical (CATIE)

One of the most visible consequences of the expansion of agribusiness is the widespread shift of land-cover from forested ecosystems to perennial monocultures, annual crops and exotic pastures. Where they occur, these changes are identified as one of the major causes of biodiversity loss. They also lead to changes in the basket of ecosystem services (ES) that different social actors (SA) can benefit from, both locally and remotely. As a result, the expansion of agribusiness is particularly suited to testing the potential of the ES concept as a tool for analyzing intertwined processes of ecological and social change. ES and economic systems have been repeatedly addressed in the literature, and a number of methods have been developed for the economic valuation of these services. Much less is known, however, about the social value for different SA of the ES that are at stake in different land-use transitions, and how such services are linked to specific components of ecosystems. We present an interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder methodology that allows to assess how different SA perceive and value different ES, and how they associate them to different biodiversity and ecosystem types that are the result of contrasting land-use regimes. We also present results from the application of this methodology to a case study in the Southern extreme of the Great Chaco of South America. The results highlight the contrasting perceptions and interests of different SA about both ES and the ecosystem types that provide them. The methodology provides a rigorous quantitative-qualitative way to compare the perspective of different stakeholders, including scientists, without necessarily having to resource to monetary valuation, and is thus useful for socio-ecological assessment and action.