Understanding Ecosystem Services Adoption by Resource Managers and Research Ecologists

ecosystem services;great lakes;resource ecologist;resource management;Natural Resources and Environment

Engel, DanielSchaeffer, Jeff ;

University of Michigan

关键词: ecosystem services;    great lakes;    resource ecologist;    resource management;    Natural Resources and Environment;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/113076/Engel_Thesis_Final_2015.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

Ecosystem Services (ES), or the benefits people obtain from ecosystems, have gained muchprominence in natural resource management over the past two decades as a relatively comprehensiveapproach to decision-making and policy design. However, to date we know little about whether andhow natural resource practitioners, from ecologists to resource managers, have adopted the ESparadigm into their respective work. Here, I address this knowledge gap by asking resource managersand research ecologists about whether and how they integrate ES into their respective work.I conducted a survey of federal, state, provincial and tribal resource managers in the GreatLakes region to gather information on their perception and use of ES as well as the relevance ofspecific services to their work. Although results indicate that fewer than 31% of the managers saidthey currently consider economic values of ES, 79% of managers said they would use economicinformation on ES if they had access to it. Additionally, managers reported that ES-relatedinformation was generally inadequate for their resource management needs. I also assessed managersby dividing them into identifiable groups (e.g. managers working in different types of governmentagencies or administrative levels) in order to evaluate differential ES integration. Overall, resultsindicate a desire among managers to transition from considering ES concepts to quantifying economicmetrics, indicating a need for practical and accessible valuation techniques.I also evaluated research ecologists’ integration of the ES paradigm because they play animportant role by contributing requisite ecological knowledge for ES models. I surveyed andinterviewed ecologists from a scientific agency asking questions similar to those asked of managers. Ithen compared the two population’s responses. Ecologists and managers almost unanimously agreedthat it was appropriate to consider ES in resource management. Their answers also convergedregarding the specific kinds of services most relevant to their work. However, ecologists appeared tooverestimate the adequacy of ES-related information they provide, while managers reported theinformation was inadequate for their needs. This divergence may reflect a need to hire economists inthis system who can aid in translating ecological models into estimates of human well-being.