A fulfilled human life: Eliciting sense of place and cultural identity in two UK marine environments through the Community Voice Method

Gillian B Ainsworth,Jasper O Kenter,Sebastian O'Connor,Francis Daunt,Juliette C Young

doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.100992

Abstract

Human impacts on the marine environment threaten the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people. Marine environments are a common-pool resource (CPR) and one of their major management challenges is how to incorporate the value of ecosystem services to society in decision-making. Cultural ecosystem services (CES) relate to the often intangible benefits people receive from their interactions with the natural environment and contribute to individual and collective human wellbeing. Priority knowledge gaps include the need to better understand shared values regarding CES, and how to effectively integrate these values into decision-making. We filmed 40 Community Voice Method interviews with marine stakeholders in two areas of the UK to improve on the valuation of coastal and marine CES. Results show that cultural benefits including sense of place, aesthetic pleasure and cultural identity were bi-directional, contributed directly to a ‘fulfilled human life’ and were associated with charismatic marine life and biodiversity. Other-regarding self-transcendence values were salient underscoring a desire for sustainable marine management. We critically reflect on our analytical framework that integrates aspects of the UK National Ecosystem Assessment and IPBES conceptual frameworks. The thematic codebook developed for this study could prove useful for future comparative studies in other marine CES contexts. We propose that values-led management could increase the efficacy of marine planning strategies.

Highlights

Unprecedented levels of human impact on the marine environment threaten the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people worldwide who depend on the ocean for their food and livelihoods (WWF, 2018)
Whilst there are cases of well-managed common-pool resource (CPR) based on principles of stewardship and community-level management (e.g. Jones et al, 2010; Kahui and Richards, 2014; Artelle et al, 2018), major challenges remain, including the difficulty in quantifying the value of ecosystem services and embracing these values in decision-making (Haines-Young and Potschin, 2009; Atkins et al, 2013)
Our study focuses on two regions in the western coasts of the UK: the Southwest of England (SW) and the West Coast of Scotland (WCoS)

Summary

Introduction

Unprecedented levels of human impact on the marine environment threaten the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people worldwide who depend on the ocean for their food and livelihoods (WWF, 2018). Marine environments are a common-pool resource (CPR) shared at local, regional and international levels, through national and international marine management policies (e.g. UNCLOS, OSPAR, EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive) that enable different types of users at multiple geographic scales to access oceanic resources and services. Managing CPRs is challenging due to the complexity of socio-economic and environmental drivers that threaten marine ecosystems and the services they provide. On the one hand, valuing aesthetic qualities in a seascape may motivate moral actions to protect it (Cooper et al, 2016). Poorly managed or degraded CPRs can diminish aesthetic qualities and reduce people’s sense of place thereby encouraging ecologically destructive behaviour, which leads to further degradation of the marine environment (Brehm et al, 2006). Whilst there are cases of well-managed CPRs based on principles of stewardship and community-level management (e.g. Jones et al, 2010; Kahui and Richards, 2014; Artelle et al, 2018), major challenges remain, including the difficulty in quantifying the value of ecosystem services and embracing these values in decision-making (Haines-Young and Potschin, 2009; Atkins et al, 2013)

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Conclusion