Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-being
Although ecosystem services are increasingly recognized as benefits people obtain from nature, we still have a poor understanding of how they actually enhance multidimensional human well-being, and how well-being is affected by ecosystem change. We develop a concept of "ecosystem service elasti...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Resilience Alliance
2016-06-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol21/iss2/art11/ |
| _version_ | 1818581587434930176 |
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| author | Tim M. Daw Christina C. Hicks Katrina Brown Tomas Chaigneau Fraser A. Januchowski-Hartley William W. L. Cheung Sérgio Rosendo Beatrice Crona Sarah Coulthard Chris Sandbrook Chris Perry Salomão Bandeira Nyawira A. Muthiga Björn Schulte-Herbrüggen Jared Bosire Tim R. McClanahan |
| author_facet | Tim M. Daw Christina C. Hicks Katrina Brown Tomas Chaigneau Fraser A. Januchowski-Hartley William W. L. Cheung Sérgio Rosendo Beatrice Crona Sarah Coulthard Chris Sandbrook Chris Perry Salomão Bandeira Nyawira A. Muthiga Björn Schulte-Herbrüggen Jared Bosire Tim R. McClanahan |
| author_sort | Tim M. Daw |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although ecosystem services are increasingly recognized as benefits people obtain from nature, we still have a poor understanding of how they actually enhance multidimensional human well-being, and how well-being is affected by ecosystem change. We develop a concept of "ecosystem service elasticity" (ES elasticity) that describes the sensitivity of human well-being to changes in ecosystems. ES Elasticity is a result of complex social and ecological dynamics and is context dependent, individually variable, and likely to demonstrate nonlinear dynamics such as thresholds and hysteresis. We present a conceptual framework that unpacks the chain of causality from ecosystem stocks through flows, goods, value, and shares to contribute to the well-being of different people. This framework builds on previous conceptualizations, but places multidimensional well-being of different people as the final element. This ultimately disaggregated approach emphasizes how different people access benefits and how benefits match their needs or aspirations.
Applying this framework to case studies of individual coastal ecosystem services in East Africa illustrates a wide range of social and ecological factors that can affect ES elasticity. For example, food web and habitat dynamics affect the sensitivity of different fisheries ecosystem services to ecological change. Meanwhile high cultural significance, or lack of alternatives enhance ES elasticity, while social mechanisms that prevent access can reduce elasticity.
Mapping out how chains are interlinked illustrates how different types of value and the well-being of different people are linked to each other and to common ecological stocks. We suggest that examining chains for individual ecosystem services can suggest potential interventions aimed at poverty alleviation and sustainable ecosystems while mapping out of interlinkages between chains can help to identify possible ecosystem service trade-offs and winners and losers. We discuss conceptual and practical challenges of applying such a framework and conclude on its utility as a heuristic for structuring interdisciplinary analysis of ecosystem services and human well-being. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:35:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b474a18e29664f80a7b64be9b0e8bc7f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1708-3087 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:35:52Z |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-b474a18e29664f80a7b64be9b0e8bc7f2022-12-21T22:39:13ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872016-06-012121110.5751/ES-08173-2102118173Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-beingTim M. Daw0Christina C. Hicks1Katrina Brown2Tomas Chaigneau3Fraser A. Januchowski-Hartley4William W. L. Cheung5Sérgio Rosendo6Beatrice Crona7Sarah Coulthard8Chris Sandbrook9Chris Perry10Salomão Bandeira11Nyawira A. Muthiga12Björn Schulte-Herbrüggen13Jared Bosire14Tim R. McClanahan15Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SwedenLancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, UKEnvironment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UKEnvironment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UKGeography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UKNippon Foundation-Nereus Program, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., CanadaSchool of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UKGlobal Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm, SwedenNorthumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKUnited Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UKGeography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UKDepartment of Biological Sciences, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, MozambiqueWildlife Conservation Society, Marine Program, Bronx, New York, USAStockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SwedenWWF Kenya, Nairobi, KenyaWildlife Conservation Society, Marine Program, Bronx, New York, USAAlthough ecosystem services are increasingly recognized as benefits people obtain from nature, we still have a poor understanding of how they actually enhance multidimensional human well-being, and how well-being is affected by ecosystem change. We develop a concept of "ecosystem service elasticity" (ES elasticity) that describes the sensitivity of human well-being to changes in ecosystems. ES Elasticity is a result of complex social and ecological dynamics and is context dependent, individually variable, and likely to demonstrate nonlinear dynamics such as thresholds and hysteresis. We present a conceptual framework that unpacks the chain of causality from ecosystem stocks through flows, goods, value, and shares to contribute to the well-being of different people. This framework builds on previous conceptualizations, but places multidimensional well-being of different people as the final element. This ultimately disaggregated approach emphasizes how different people access benefits and how benefits match their needs or aspirations. Applying this framework to case studies of individual coastal ecosystem services in East Africa illustrates a wide range of social and ecological factors that can affect ES elasticity. For example, food web and habitat dynamics affect the sensitivity of different fisheries ecosystem services to ecological change. Meanwhile high cultural significance, or lack of alternatives enhance ES elasticity, while social mechanisms that prevent access can reduce elasticity. Mapping out how chains are interlinked illustrates how different types of value and the well-being of different people are linked to each other and to common ecological stocks. We suggest that examining chains for individual ecosystem services can suggest potential interventions aimed at poverty alleviation and sustainable ecosystems while mapping out of interlinkages between chains can help to identify possible ecosystem service trade-offs and winners and losers. We discuss conceptual and practical challenges of applying such a framework and conclude on its utility as a heuristic for structuring interdisciplinary analysis of ecosystem services and human well-being.http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol21/iss2/art11/coastal ecosystemsconceptual frameworkEast Africaenvironmentalists’fisheriesmangrovesparadox |
| spellingShingle | Tim M. Daw Christina C. Hicks Katrina Brown Tomas Chaigneau Fraser A. Januchowski-Hartley William W. L. Cheung Sérgio Rosendo Beatrice Crona Sarah Coulthard Chris Sandbrook Chris Perry Salomão Bandeira Nyawira A. Muthiga Björn Schulte-Herbrüggen Jared Bosire Tim R. McClanahan Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-being Ecology and Society coastal ecosystems conceptual framework East Africa environmentalists’ fisheries mangroves paradox |
| title | Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-being |
| title_full | Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-being |
| title_fullStr | Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-being |
| title_full_unstemmed | Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-being |
| title_short | Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-being |
| title_sort | elasticity in ecosystem services exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well being |
| topic | coastal ecosystems conceptual framework East Africa environmentalists’ fisheries mangroves paradox |
| url | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol21/iss2/art11/ |
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