Groundwater recharge as a basis for the assessment of ecosystem services on common land: The case of the Primorska region in Slovenia

The ecosystem approach—as endorsed by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB) in 2000—is a strategy for holistic, sustainable, and equitable natural resource management, to be implemented via the 12 Malawi Principles. These principles describe the need to manage nature in terms of dynamic ecosystems, while fully engaging with local peoples. It is an ambitious concept. Today, the term is common throughout the research and policy literature on environmental management. However, multiple meanings have been attached to the term, resulting in confusion. We reviewed references to the ecosystem approach from 1957 to 2012 and identified 3 primary uses: as an alternative to ecosystem management or ecosystem-based management; in reference to an integrated and equitable approach to resource management as per the CBD; and as a term signifying a focus on understanding and valuing ecosystem services. Although uses of this term and its variants may overlap in meaning, typically, they do not entirely reflect the ethos of the ecosystem approach as defined by the CBD. For example, there is presently an increasing emphasis on ecosystem services, but focusing on these alone does not promote decentralization of management or use of all forms of knowledge, both of which are integral to the CBD’s concept. We highlight that the Malawi Principles are at risk of being forgotten. To better understand these principles, more effort to implement them is required. Such efforts should be evaluated, ideally with comparative approaches, before allowing the CBD’s concept of holistic and socially engaged management to be abandoned or superseded. It is possible that attempts to implement all 12 principles together will face many challenges, but they may also offer a unique way to promote holistic and equitable governance of natural resources. Therefore, we believe that the CBD’s concept of the ecosystem approach demands more attention.La Necesidad de Desenredar Conceptos Clave del Argot Ambiente-EstrategiaResumenLa estrategia ambiental – como es promocionada por la Convención Biológica sobre Diversidad en 2000 – es una estrategia para un manejo holístico, sustentable y equitativo de recursos naturales, que habrá de implementarse por vía de los 12 Principios de Malawi. Estos principios describen la necesidad de manejar la naturaleza en términos de ecosistemas dinámicos, mientras se compromete totalmente con las personas locales. Es un concepto ambicioso. Hoy en día, el término es común en la investigación y la literatura de políticas sobre el manejo ambiente. Sin embargo, se han relacionado múltiples significados con el término, lo que resulta en confusión. Revisamos referencias a la estrategia ambiental de 1957 a 2012 e identificamos tres usos principales: como una alternativa para manejo ambiental o basado en ecosistemas; en referencia a una estrategia integrada y equitativa para el manejo de recursos según la CBD; y como un término que indica un enfoque en el entendimiento y la valuación de los servicios ambientales. Aunque los usos de este término y sus variantes pueden traslaparse en su significado, típicamente no reflejan en su totalidad los valores de la estrategia ambiental como fue definida por la CBD. Por ejemplo, actualmente hay un énfasis creciente en los servicios ambientales, pero enfocarse solamente en estos no promueve la descentralización del manejo o el uso de todas las formas de conocimiento, siendo ambas integrales para el concepto de la CBD. Resaltamos que los Principios de Malawi están en riesgo de ser olvidados. Para entender mejor estos principios, se requiere de más esfuerzo para implementarlos. Dichos esfuerzos deben ser evaluados, idóneamente con estrategias comparativas, antes de permitir que el concepto de la CBD de manejo holístico y comprometido socialmente sea abandonado o reemplazado. Es posible que los intentos por implementar los 12 principios juntos enfrentarán muchos obstáculos, pero también pueden ofrecer una forma única de promover el gobierno holístico y equitativo de los recursos naturales. Así, creemos que el concepto de estrategia ambiental de la CBD exige mayor atención.

The management of natural resources has become a crucial agenda item at the community level of every country, due to the importance of a community’s direct involvement in the stewardship of these resources. The sustainable management of natural resources is not easy without the involvement of the community. To know the attitudes of residents in the communities in close proximity to Central Karakoram National Park (CKNP) towards natural resource sustainable management policy, a study of CKNP in northern Pakistan was conducted. This is the first community study for this park. It is difficult to overstate the economic and geographic importance of this national resource to the Pakistani people at local and national levels, as well as at the international level. This is the world’s highest public park; as a natural resource it is not only important to the local community, it also has great relevance internationally. The study attempted to gauge the attitudes of the local community towards the sustainable management practices of CKNP. The results of this study showed generally positive attitudes towards the park. The majority of respondents revealed that the park’s primary appeal is its geographic location. Households were afraid that pollution in the park will gradually destroy the park’s natural resources. For sustainable management of the CKNP, community members expressed willingness to contribute to the betterment of park through volunteerism. Community members praised the government’s supportive actions, including budgetary support and public-awareness campaigns. As such, the positive attitude of the community towards the CKNP also revealed new insights for the community-centered sustainable management of natural resources in developing countries. This study also provides a research gap for future work relating to the sustainable management of community-based natural resources to consider more factors beside the factors used in this study.

This chapter is based on the proposition that the lamentable environmental, social and economic situation of many communities in developing countries can be improved by introducing and implementing sustainable product design (SPD) among local Micro and small enterprises (MSE). MSEs play an important role in achieving these objectives because they are the backbone of the private sector. A successful SPD implementation strategy for developing countries needs to encompass planning, manufacturing and marketing. It has to provide alternatives to the entire production cycle, including the sustainable management and supply of natural resources, improvements in the manufacturing process and a search for alternative marketing opportunities. The need for an assessment phase is based on the belief that to contribute to improving the existing situation it is essential to understand the current relationship between people and the environment. The sustainable management of natural resources is a management that maintains the biodiversity and the flow of goods and environmental services in the long term.

Problem. Forests are the most important natural resource that has shaped the history and culture of each region. The economic assessment of forest ecosystem services is essential for improving the environmental situation, and acts as the basis for making informed management decisions. The economic assessment of ecosystem services is a complex scientific and methodological problem and is characterized by certain contradictions. One of these problems is the diversity and specificity of individual ecosystem services, in connection with which it greatly complicates the process of formation of standardized scientific and methodological approaches to the assessment of ecosystem services. Goal. The aim is to analyze methodological approaches to the cost assessment of forest ecosystem services and give an economic assessment of forest ecosystem services on the example of SE "Vovchanske forestry" of Kharkiv region. Methodology. Analytical research methods were used to determine standardized scientific and methodological approaches to the economic evaluation of ecosystem services and to identify forest ecosystem services for which there is sufficient source information for calculating the cost. The calculation method was used for the economic assessment of certain categories of forest ecosystem services and for the consolidated assessment of the cost of providing and regulating forest services of SE "Vovchanske forestry". Results. The result is a number of key principles of best practice for the cost assessment of ecosystem services “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” (ТЕЕВ). Analysis of the main approaches to the commodification of ecosystem services made it possible to determine the established practice of their cost assessment on the basis of the Belarusian methodology "The procedure for carrying out a cost assessment of ecosystem services". The paper considers the main ecosystem services of the forest, identifies services for which there is enough initial information to calculate the cost. This is the characteristic of forestry SE "Vovchansky forestry". Of all the ecosystem services, forests are currently involved in market turnover and have an established cost of direct actual use services – providing services, and of the latter – the provision of wood. To calculate the cost of harvested wood, the average price was taken (taking into account the price of wood – firewood) per 1 m3 – 857 UAH/m3. The calculated cost of wood resources with a specific volume of felling 28.9 m3/ha is 24767 UAH/ha. In addition to wood, the forest also supplies the so-called non-wood resources, food resources and medicinal plants. The cost of wood and non-wood-providing forest services is 55297 UAH/ha. At the same time, the cost of non-wood resources exceeds the cost of harvested wood. Among the regulating ecosystem services of the forest, carbon dioxide assimilation is most often considered, which is an economically important factor in light of the problem of climate change and the Paris Agreement. In this paper, the estimate of the average annual absorption of carbon dioxide is carried out for the generalized age of plantings due to the inability to obtain data on the age indicators of certain areas of forestry and their growth areas. The calculation of the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed determines the assimilation capacity of the forest at 13.48 t/ha. At the existing rate per ton of $ 15 US (~ 420 UAH), the price of assimilation service is 5660 UAH/ha. Directly related to the assimilation of carbon dioxide, another regulatory service is the production of oxygen. At the cost of industrial oxygen production of 110.00 UAH/m3, the cost of the service is 55000 UAH/ha. Forests act as a filter, purify atmospheric air from various kinds of harmful impurities. The object of economic assessment of the assimilation potential of forest vegetation is the limiting content of pollutants in the phyto mass of the main forest-forming rocks. At the rates of environmental tax on substances emitted into the air, the cost of assimilation of pollutants is calculated, which is 17412 UAH/ha. The total cost of regulating ecosystem services of the forest is 81767,00 UAH/ha. Thus, the consolidated assessment of the cost of providing and regulating services of the forest SE "Vovchanske forestry" is 137054 UAH/ha. Originality. An economic assessment of the ecosystem services of the Volchanske forestry was carried out, the excess of the cost of regulatory services over services for the harvesting and delivery of timber and other “gifts” of the forest was determined. Practical value. The assessment of forest ecosystem services shows that the main value of the forest is not the provision of wood, but in the assimilation potential of the forest, its ability to maintain the cycle of substances and biodiversity. This must be taken into account when making environmental decisions and in order to develop paid nature management.

Resource management in a sustainable way is based on a thorough understanding of the complexity of Earth’s natural ecosystems and how they can be managed without compromising future generations. Sustainable management of natural resources becomes much more complicated when there is a severe and persistent anthropogenic impact. The interdisciplinary approach should improve understanding, assessment, and maintenance of natural capital and related ecosystem services in urban-industrial areas. In ecological restoration, the biggest challenge is to find a consensus of suitable biodiversity indicators and economically possible measures, which will produce multiple socially and ecologically guided environmental benefits. There is difficulty reaching such a consensus because of the complexity and different ways of understanding the biodiversity concept. Restoration projects should involve ecologically-based methods and approaches, fulfilling many stakeholders' expectations for sustainable development and human well-being. Integrated natural and human models for sustainable management can help to understand the dynamics of ecosystems, including biodiversity and trophic levels, to simulate and evaluate different management scenarios concerning biodiversity and ecosystem services. There is still a need to increase understanding of the role of biodiversity and ecosystem service identification as essential factors influencing the dynamics of the ecosystem and sustainable management scenarios.

Increased use of forest resources to meet increasing world demand for wood and other forest products threatens forest sustainability and highlights the importance of conservation and sustainable management of these resources. Maintaining well-adapted and productive forests, and conserving natural forest genetic resources are important for sustainable forest management. Over exploitation of species can lead to excessive forest fragmentation and reduction of population sizes to a point that threatens population viability and species existence. In many cases, restoration of genetic resources of threatened species is needed. Molecular genetic markers, combined with population genetic principles and concepts, can greatly facilitate programs in conservation, restoration and sustainable management of forest genetic resources. We have used various biochemical and molecular genetic markers, such as allozymes, microsatellite DNA, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and sequence-tagged site markers, to examine effects of alternative silvicultural harvesting and regeneration systems, and forest fragmentation and small population size on genetic diversity, fine-scale population genetic structure, mating system and other population genetic parameters in white spruce (Picea glauca), eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), and red spruce (Picea rubens). The objectives of our studies are to provide genetic benchmarks and indicators for developing guidelines for genetically sustainable forest management practices and scientifically sound strategies for conservation and restoration of forest genetic resources. The results of these studies are discussed, particularly in the context of sustainable management, conservation and restoration of forest genetic resources.

The impacts of climate change on ecosystem services in southern California

The economic meaning of measures to water wetlands based on calculations of the economic value of their ecosystem goods and services is insufficiently studied in Russia. In this regard, it is difficult for decision-making authorities to adopt these measures as a strategy for sustainable management of natural resources. The purpose of the research is a monetary assessment of the regional benefits from ecosystem services of wetlands that the local community of the Lower Volga region will receive in connection with the rehabilitation of the Volga–Akhtuba floodplain. The study presents the magnitude and structure of these ecosystem services. The methodology of their economic assessment is given. It is established that by the period of full restoration of the hydrological regime of the Volga–Akhtuba floodplain (2035), the economic value of provisioning services of its wetlands, taking into account inflation and regional pricing, will be USD 87 ha−1 year−1, the economic value of cultural services—USD 77 ha–1 year−1, the economic value of regulation and maintenance services—USD 106 ha−1 year−1. The data obtained indicate the high importance of wetland irrigation measures for the Lower Volga region and allow us to consider them as a means of improving the quality of the environment and solving social problems of the region by decision-making authorities involved in the sustainable management of its development.

The contribution of the commons to the persistence of mountain grazing systems under the Common Agricultural Policy

Nigeria has greater challenges when it comes to groundwater development and management. The management of the resource is lagging behind the pace of development, and often, very little control is exercised in its exploitation. The current groundwater resources development and supply status is unacceptably low and needs a major transformation. With the rapid growth in population, urbanization, industrialization and competition for economic development, groundwater resource has become vulnerable to depletion and degradation. Management of this valuable resource is determined by its acceptability and utilizability in terms of quantity and quality. Due to imbalance between demand and availability, management approaches are facing various ethical dilemas. Against this context, relevant questions present themselves: What is the real extent of the problems? Why are the present efforts so limited? ; and what can be done to change the situation, to start on a path to more sustainable and equitable development and management of groundwater resources? To be able to adequately address the questions and devise intelligent answers, an analysis of the present impediments deserves attention. Only by clarifying the constraints and addressing them, will any significant changes be possible, let alone occur. This paper therefore emphasizes that the machinery of groundwater resources development and management needs an urgent overhauling with the aim of streamlining the overlapping functions of the various agencies that have operated the system up till now. More importantly, the paper suggested integrated approaches/strategies for sustainable management as well as offers some relevant policy recommendations for groundwater management in Nigeria. Key words: Groundwater resources, groundwater management, groundwater policy, sustainability, groundwater utilization, Nigeria.

Scientific evidence is robust about the environmentally destructive side-effects of the current industrial civilization and that requires radical actions to safeguard sustainable management of natural resources and liveable Planet Earth. Agroecology as a broader movement serves some of this role in demonstrating alternative practices in food production and ecosystem management. This paper demonstrates that the permaculture movement in Latvia is developing as a recognized alternative on the pathway to solutions, linking to the work elsewhere done on management of common natural resources – the things that no one owns and are shared by everyone. The author have explored the development of the permaculture movement in Latvia since its first roots in the late 2000s and the establishment of the Latvian Permaculture Association (LPA) in 2011. The contribution of the movement manifests itself in diverse aspects. It unifies various sustainability-oriented people, grounds itself in locality and traditions, organises practically oriented events to upskill people, and collaborates with Latvian environmental organisations and internationally. Within the research the author consciously opted for an in-depth involvement and co-creation of initiatives within the permaculture movement, leading the LPA since 2016 and organizing multiple events and workshops. That leads to further reflections on the role and necessity for participatory action research for sustainability transformations and common natural resources.

Chapter 1 - Introduction

The sustainable management of natural resources can make human survival possible. Sustainable management is based on a deep understanding of the complex mechanisms of the Earth’s natural ecosystems and of how those resources can be managed without compromising future benefits and availability. The sustainable management of natural resources becomes much more complicated when there is severe and constant anthropogenic impact, and therefore, an interdisciplinary approach has to be undertaken to improve the understanding, assessment, and maintenance of the natural capital, and the related ecosystem services, in urban-industrial areas. In ecological restoration, the biggest challenge is to find a general consensus of suitable biodiversity indicators and economically viable measures, which will produce multiple socially and ecologically guided environmental benefits. There is difficulty in reaching such consensus because of the complexity, and differing understanding, of the biodiversity concept. In an effort to restore sites disturbed by industrial (mining) activities, restoration projects should involve ecologically based methods and approaches, which will be able to fulfill many stakeholders’ expectations for sustainable development and human well-being. The integrated natural and human models for sustainable management can used to understand the dynamics of ecosystems, including biodiversity and trophic levels (including mid-trophic consumer influences), in order to simulate and evaluate different management scenarios in relation to biodiversity and ecosystem services. There is still a need for the increasing understanding of the role of biodiversity and ecosystem service identification as important factors influencing the dynamics of ecosystem and sustainable management scenarios.

The Ecosystem Service Paradigm (EsSP) is increasingly a component or even an underlying principle of environmental policy, legislation and management internationally. The EsSP can be used to define links between human activities and ecosystems, and ecosystems and the services that in turn support and sustain those and other activities; this information can then be used to evaluate, justify or optimize decisions. However, how EsS within various practical applications and frameworks are applied, defined, quantified, modelled, valued and communicated ranges widely, potentially hindering their roles as cross-sectoral tools. For this paradigm to be useful for cross-disciplinary integration, it is important that practitioners in different fields are clear about what is meant and assumed when terms are used, and within what context assessments are being carried out. The logic behind practical applications of the EsSP can be explained by the EsS Decision Cascade, a three-part, iterative conceptual framework. Within the decision cascade, Ecosystem Service Decision Analysis (EsSD) defines the proposed policies or actions (scenarios), and the changes/pressures under consideration in different scenarios. Within the context laid out by EsSD, Ecosystem Service Assessment (EsSA) will then evaluate how such changes affect biophysical structure, and thus ecosystem function and services; Ecosystem Service Valuation (EsSV) then takes the results from these analyses and generates valuations to inform decisions; linking back to EsSD. EsS-based evaluations can expand the current risk-focused thinking behind ecological risk assessment (ERA) to consider trade-offs between a range of desirable and undesirable responses of a variety of ecosystem endpoints; such an assessment can be termed an Ecosystem Response Assessment (EcoResA), or if applied in a spatially explicit manner, an Ecosystem Regional Assessment (EcoRegA); understanding of such trade-offs is essential to inform decisions about more sustainable remediation, regulation and management of landscapes and resources. This paper describes "taxonomies" of various aspects of EsSP applications, based upon their decision context, perspective and assessment approach. It then examines, with a focus on European issues, a range of current and emerging regulatory and management applications to which the EsSP can be applied in light of this taxonomy.

Ecosystem service assessment and prediction play a crucial role in sustainable regional development and resource management. Liaoning Province, as a typical representative of Northeast China, faces rapid development challenges such as urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural modernization. At the same time, there is an urgent need for a deeper understanding of the evolution trends of its ecosystems and their impact on ecosystem services. This study employed the InVEST-Markov-PLUS model to conduct simulated research on the assessment of past and future ecosystem services and multi-scenario predictions in Liaoning Province. Based on the land-use changes in Liaoning Province from 2000 to 2020, the InVEST model was used to evaluate the spatiotemporal variations in carbon storage, soil conservation, and water yield in the ecosystem services from 2000 to 2020. Additionally, the equivalent factor method was employed to calculate the value of ecosystem services in Liaoning Province during the same period. Furthermore, by integrating the PLUS and Markov models with the actual conditions of Liaoning Province, four land-use development scenarios for 2030 were constructed, including natural development, economic priority, ecological protection, and cropland protection. The land-use distribution and the quantities and values of ecosystem services under these scenarios were simulated. The study revealed the following findings： ① From 2000 to 2020, carbon storage and soil retention in Liaoning Province showed an overall increasing trend, whereas water yield exhibited a fluctuating decrease trend initially, followed by an increase and then another decrease. ② Carbon storage and soil retention in Liaoning Province showed higher values in the eastern mountainous areas and western hilly regions, with lower values in the central region. Water yield showed a decreasing trend from east to west. ③ The value of ecosystem services increased from 547.94 billion yuan to 565.53 billion yuan, with a total increase of 17.58 billion yuan during the study period. All four types of services showed an increase, with cultural services experiencing the fastest change. ④ In 2030, carbon storage and soil retention in Liaoning Province decreased in all scenarios except for in the ecological protection scenario. Water yield increased only in the cropland protection scenario, whereas it decreased in the other three scenarios. The value of ecosystem services in the study area increased in all scenarios except for in the economic priority scenario.