Abstract
The value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) for informing resource management has long been recognized; however, its incorporation into ecosystem services (ES) assessments remains uncommon. Often “top-down” approaches are utilized, depending on “expert knowledge”, that are not relevant to local resource users. Here we propose an approach for combining participatory methods with remote sensing to provide a more holistic understanding of ES change. Participatory mapping in focus group discussions identified TEK regarding what ES were present, where, and their value to communities. TEK was then integrated with satellite imagery to extrapolate to the landscape-scale. We demonstrate our method for Nyangatom communities in the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, showing for the first time the ES impacts of regional environmental change, including the Gibe III dam, for communities in the Omo River basin. Results confirmed the collapse of flood-retreat cultivation associated with the loss of the annual Omo flood. Communities reported declines in many other provisioning ES, and these results were supported by satellite mapping, which showed substantial reductions in land covers with high ES value (shrubland and wetland), leading to consequent ES declines. Our mixed-methods approach has potential to be applied in other regions to generate locally relevant information for evaluating ES dynamics and improving management of natural resources.
Highlights
Semi-arid regions across Africa are undergoing a period of rapid environmental and social change
This paper provides two main contributions: 1) the contribution of an integrated method to map ecosystem services using remote sensing (RS)-geographic information system (GIS) and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK); 2) the first ES mapping for the Nyangatom region of the Lower Omo
We have demonstrated a novel methodology which integrates qualitive and quantitative participatory methods, along with remote sensing to map changes in ecosystem services
Summary
Semi-arid regions across Africa are undergoing a period of rapid environmental and social change. A focus on ecosystem services is required given the global challenges we are facing, as addressed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [2]. All social-ecological systems (SES) produce a “bundle” of ES and following [1], we acknowledge three major categories of ecosystem services—provisioning (e.g., water, grazing fodder), regulating (e.g., flood control and climate regulation), and cultural services (e.g., recreation, spiritual values)—assuming that supporting ES are included within these categories as they underlie their production. Framing semi-arid regions as SES provides an analytical framework through which change resulting from one or multiple system drivers (i.e., technological and engineering developments, land degradation, climate change) in a bounded geographical location, allows the identification of system
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