Spatial and temporal dynamics of multidimensional well-being, livelihoods and ecosystem services in coastal Bangladesh.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Adams H
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5100685 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:Conservation scientists increasingly recognize that incorporating human values into conservation planning increases the chances for success by garnering broader project acceptance. However, methods for defining quantitative targets for the spatial representation of human well-being priorities are less developed. In this study we employ an approach for identifying regionally important human values and establishing specific spatial targets for their representation based on stakeholder outreach. Our primary objective was to develop a spatially-explicit conservation plan that identifies the most efficient locations for conservation actions to meet ecological goals while sustaining or enhancing human well-being values within the coastal and nearshore areas of the western Lake Erie basin (WLEB). We conducted an optimization analysis using 26 features representing ecological and human well-being priorities (13 of each), and included seven cost layers. The influence that including human well-being had on project results was tested by running five scenarios and setting targets for human well-being at different levels in each scenario. The most important areas for conservation to achieve multiple goals are clustered along the coast, reflecting a concentration of existing or potentially restorable coastal wetlands, coastal landbird stopover habitat and terrestrial biodiversity, as well as important recreational activities. Inland important areas tended to cluster around trails and high quality inland landbird stopover habitat. Most concentrated areas of importance also are centered on lands that are already conserved, reflecting the lower costs and higher benefits of enlarging these conserved areas rather than conserving isolated, dispersed areas. Including human well-being features in the analysis only influenced the solution at the highest target levels.
| S-EPMC5328270 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Resource-based livelihoods are uncertain and potentially unstable due to variability over time, including seasonal variation: this instability threatens marginalised populations who may fall into poverty. However, empirical understanding of trajectories of household well-being and poverty is limited. Here, we present a new household-level model of poverty dynamics based on agents and coping strategies-the Household Economy And Poverty trajectory (HEAP) model. HEAP is based on established economic and social insights into poverty dynamics, with a demonstration of the model calibrated with a qualitative and quantitative household survey in coastal Bangladesh. Economic activity in Bangladesh is highly dependent on natural resources; poverty is widespread; and there is high variability in ecosystem services at multiple temporal scales. The results show that long-term decreases in poverty are predicated more on the stability of, and returns from, livelihoods rather than their diversification. Access to natural resources and ecosystem service benefits are positively correlated with stable income and multidimensional well-being. Households that remain in poverty are those who experience high seasonality of income and are involved in small scale enterprises. Hence, seasonal variability in income places significant limits on natural resources providing routes out of poverty. Further, projected economic trends to 2030 lead to an increase in well-being and a reduction in poverty for most simulated household types.
| S-EPMC7473571 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Despite broad recognition of the value of the goods and services provided by nature, existing tools for assessing and valuing ecosystem services often fall short of the needs and expectations of decision makers. Here we address one of the most important missing components in the current ecosystem services toolbox: a comprehensive and generalizable framework for describing and valuing water quality-related services. Water quality is often misrepresented as a final ecosystem service. We argue that it is actually an important contributor to many different services, from recreation to human health. We present a valuation approach for water quality-related services that is sensitive to different actions that affect water quality, identifies aquatic endpoints where the consequences of changing water quality on human well-being are realized, and recognizes the unique groups of beneficiaries affected by those changes. We describe the multiple biophysical and economic pathways that link actions to changes in water quality-related ecosystem goods and services and provide guidance to researchers interested in valuing these changes. Finally, we present a valuation template that integrates biophysical and economic models, links actions to changes in service provision and value estimates, and considers multiple sources of water quality-related ecosystem service values without double counting.
| S-EPMC3494932 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Nature contributes substantially to human well-being through its diverse material and nonmaterial contributions. However, despite the growing literature on the nonmaterial dimensions of human-nature relations, we lack a systematic understanding of how they are linked with human well-being. Here, we use the concept of cultural ecosystem services (CESs) as a lens to explore this interface. Through a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature, we elicit the unique pathways and mechanisms linking individual CESs and constituents of human well-being, as well as their relative effects. Subsequently, we identify their complex interactions through latent class analysis and multiple correspondence analysis, which delineate five major assemblages that reflect synergies and trade-offs at the interface of CESs and human well-being. We critically discuss key research trends and gaps and propose directions for future research and practice to leverage the potential of the nonmaterial contributions of nature for human well-being and sustainability more broadly.
| S-EPMC9355367 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Ecosystem services enhance well-being and the livelihoods of disadvantaged communities. Civic ecology can enhance social-ecological systems; however, their contributions to ecosystem services are rarely measured. We analysed the outcomes of civic ecology interventions undertaken in Durban, South Africa, as part of the Wise Wayz Water Care programme (the case study). Using mixed methods (household and beneficiary (community members implementing interventions) surveys, interviews, field observations, and workshops), we identified ecosystem service use and values, as well as the benefits of six interventions (solid waste management and removal from aquatic and terrestrial areas, recycling, invasive alien plant control, river water quality monitoring, vegetable production, and community engagement). Ecosystem services were widely used for agriculture, subsistence, and cultural uses. River water was used for crop irrigation, livestock, and recreation. Respondents noted numerous improvements to natural habitats: decrease in invasive alien plants, less pollution, improved condition of wetlands, and increased production of diverse vegetables. Improved habitats were linked to enhanced ecosystem services: clean water, agricultural production, harvesting of wood, and increased cultural and spiritual activities. Key social benefits were increased social cohesion, education, and new business opportunities. We highlight that local communities can leverage natural capital for well-being and encourage policy support of civic ecology initiatives.
| S-EPMC7615067 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe objective of this study is to present the psychometric and cultural adaptation of the I COPPE scale to the Italian context. The original 21-item I COPPE was developed by Isaac Prilleltensky and colleagues to integrate a multidimensional and temporal perspective into the quantitative assessment of people's subjective well-being. The scale comprises seven domains (Overall, Interpersonal, Community, Occupation, Psychological, Physical, and Economic well-being), which tap into past, present, and future self-appraisals of well-being.MethodsThe Italian adapted version of the I COPPE scale underwent translation and backtranslation procedure. After a pilot study was conducted on a local sample of 683 university students, a national sample of 2432 Italian citizens responded to the final translated version of the I COPPE scale, 772 of whom re-completed the same survey after a period of four months. Respondents from both waves of the national sample were recruited partly through on-line social networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and SurveyMonkey) and partly by university students who had been trained in Computer-Assisted Survey Information Collection.ResultsData were first screened for non-valid cases and tested for multivariate normality and missing data. The correlation matrix revealed highly significant correlation values, ranging from medium to high for nearly all congeneric variables of the I COPPE scale. Results from a series of nested and non-nested model comparisons supported the 7-factor correlated-traits model originally hypothesised, with factor loadings and inter-item reliability ranging from medium to high. In addition, they revealed that the I COPPE scale has strong internal reliability, with composite reliability always higher than .7, satisfactory construct validity, with average variance extracted nearly always higher than .5, and and full strict invariance across time.ConclusionsThe Italian adaptation of the I COPPE scale presents appropriate psychometric properties in terms of both validity and reliability, and therefore can be applied to the Italian context. Some limitation and recommendations for future studies are discussed.
| S-EPMC5941326 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Stakeholder perception and supply-demand relations are the main challenges and future directions for research on ecosystem services (ES). Based on spatial data and statistical data, we mapped eight key ES supply between 2005-2015 in the Huailai mountain-basin area. Using data from 507 survey questionnaires, we identified the ES demand and the public perceptions of the changes in ES. In addition, we also reveal the characteristics of the spatial distribution of ES demand, analyze the spatial supply-demand matching of ES, and explore the relationships between ES supply-demand and human well-being. From 2005 to 2015, a general upward trend was observed in the supply of four types of product provisioning services, which is different from the trend perceived by the stakeholders. An increasing trend was observed for carbon sequestration and forest recreation, which was in line with the perceptions of change. A spatial mismatch existed between the ES demand and supply, whereby the supply of carbon sequestration, soil conservation, habitat quality, and forest recreation services exceeded the demand in townships in the mountainous and hilly regions. On the other hand, townships located in the valley plains experienced a high imbalance between the demand and the supply. For the four types of product provisioning services, most towns and villages showed a balance in demand and supply. Linking ES supply-demand and human well-being showed that a threshold may exist in the supply-demand imbalance of regulating and supporting services before it begins to impact human well-being. Our study would enrich the theory and methodology research on relationships between ecosystem services and human well-being, and support knowledge to land allocation and management.
| S-EPMC7432866 | biostudies-literature
Project description:As a disaster prone country, Bangladesh is regularly hit by natural hazards, including devastating cyclones, such as in 1970, 1991 and 2007. Although the number of cyclones' fatalities reduced from 0.3 million in 1970 to a few thousand or fewer in recent events, loss of lives and impact on livelihoods remains a concern. It depends on the meteorological characteristics of cyclone and the general vulnerability and capacity of the exposed population. In that perspective, a spatially explicit risk assessment is an essential step towards targeted disaster risk reduction. This study aims at analyzing the spatial variation of the different factors contributing to the risk for coastal communities at regional scale, including the distribution of the hazards, exposure, vulnerability and capacity. An exploratory factor analysis method is used to map vulnerability contrasts between local administrative units. Indexing and ranking using geospatial techniques are used to produce maps of exposure, hazard, vulnerability, capacities and risk. Results show that vulnerable populations and exposed areas are distributed along the land sea boundary, islands and major inland rivers. The hazard, assessed from the density of historical cyclone paths, is highest in the southwestern part of the coast. Whereas cyclones shelters are shown to properly serve the most vulnerable populations as priority evacuation centers, the overall pattern of capacity accounting for building quality and road network shows a more complex pattern. Resultant risk maps also provide a reasonable basis from which to take further structural measures to minimize loss of lives in the upcoming cyclones.
| S-EPMC5580535 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The establishment of the Sanjiangyuan National Park (SNP) favours implementation of strictest ecological protection on the Tibetan Plateau, thus firmly ensuring national ecological security. To understand ecological background in the SNP, spatial and temporal variations of ecosystem, and its services during the period 2000-2015 and significance identification were analysed by using the methods of remote sensing, GIS and model simulation. The results showed that: (1) Area with extremely important ecosystem services accounted for approximately 51.4% of the SNP's total area, of which extreme importance water regulation, soil conservation and sand fixation regions contributed 15.3%, 13.7% and 22.4%, respectively. (2) The SNP had formed a spatial pattern of ecosystem services with water regulation as core in the eastern part, soil conservation as core in the central part and sand fixation as core in the western part. (3) For the period 2000-2015, water regulation service generally improved in the SNP. Soil conservation service also improved overall; and sand fixation service exhibited a decreasing trend due to reduction in wind speed and vegetation coverage. (4) Climate warming and humidification, combined with the implementation of ecological protection project in the SNP were the primary reasons for ecosystem services improvement. However, grassland degradation had not yet been fundamentally suppressed, and vegetation coverage was still declining in regional areas. For strict protection and sustainable use of the SNP and its natural resources, overall planning and scientific layout should be paid more attention, and classification and subarea protection should be implemented based on natural ecosystem laws.
| S-EPMC7145809 | biostudies-literature
Project description:There is an astonishing diversity of ways in which people benefit from coral reefs. They provide recreation, resource extraction, inspirational, and educational opportunities, among many others as well as being valued just for their existence. As the condition of coral reef ecosystems decline, so do their ability to provide these benefits. Prudent management of coral reefs and the benefits they provide are important as some predict most coral reefs globally will be lost by the mid-21st century. Meanwhile, coral reef managers have limited tools and relevant data to design and implement effective environmental management practices that will enable coral reefs to provide benefits demanded by society. We demonstrate an approach to identify and measure environmental components of coral reefs that directly benefit human well-being. The approach views ecosystems through the lens of a specific set of beneficiaries and the biophysical features directly relevant to each. We call these biophysical features Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS). In our demonstration, we (1) identify a range of beneficiaries of coral reefs; (2) identify metrics of FEGS for those beneficiaries; and (3) describe how data quantifying those biophysical metrics might be used to facilitate greater economic and social understanding.
| S-EPMC8686212 | biostudies-literature