Common approach for socio-economic valuation of pollinator-friendly landscapes

GARIBALDI L.A.; AZZU N.; HIPÓLITO J.; BLANDE V.

Roma

Simposio; 2nd ApiEcoFlora & Biodiversity Apimondia Symposium; 2014

http://www.apiecoflora.org/

The socio-economic valuation of ecosystem services is increasingly an important issue, at international, national, landscape, and local levels. This talk presents a protocol for determining the socio-economic value of pollinator-friendly versus -unfriendly landscapes. Previous protocolsfocused on the national and local levels, whereas the protocol proposed is intended to fill the gap between these two scales. Other differences among protocols such as the use of total versus marginal values will also be discussed. The proposed protocol is targeted at rural landscapes with at least 10 % of the area under primary production but less than 10 % of urban area. The landscapes can include also secondary (e.g. livestock) production, forestry, and protected areas. The scope is comprehensive, and includes small- as well as large-scale farming systems. Indeed, the comparison between these systems may be of great interest. There are four basic steps to implement this protocol. First, define a landscape contrast (scale, characteristics, etc.). In general, the followingaspects define a pollinator-friendly landscape (i.e. higher species richness of flower-visitors): high landscape complexity (different types of habitats), high habitat quality (not only natural), low or no pesticides, high within-field plant biodiversity (e.g. ruderal plants). Second, quantify the multi- dimensional socio-economic value of agricultural landscapes by considering five livelihoods assets: financial, social, natural, physical, and human. Third, define the method (feasibility) to obtain eachvariable (questionnaires, GIS, etc). Fourth, perform multivariate statistical analyses (no general index). These four steps are exemplified through field sampling in the region of Chapada Diamantina (Bahia, Brazil) at 20 contrasting landscapes producing coffee, a pollinator dependent crop. Policy decisions to increase landscape suitability for pollinators may also enhance some variables related to people?s good quality of life, but may compromise others. Therefore, the proposed protocol is a critical tool for decission making by quantifying the synergies and trade-offs among several important socio-economic variables across landscapes with contrasting suitability for pollinators.