Abstract
Ecosystem services (ES), commonly defined as the benefits people get from ecosystems, are key components in improving human well-being. However, as land utilization transitions from forest and agricultural land to urban areas and industrial complexes, the continuous provision of ES is affected. To ensure sustainable development, conservation programs should be implemented that consider both the stakeholders' well-being while also maintaining ecosystem health and integrity. Consequently, to improve the strategic implementation of conservation programs, it is critical to understand stakeholders' preferences.Using an online survey, we elicited South Carolina residents' preference in prioritizing the target ecosystems and ecosystem services in the state. The results identified that the priority ecosystem service is water quality regulation. However, the residents' preference for water quality regulation does not discredit the importance of maintaining the continuous water supply provision. In terms of ecosystem preference, residents indicated that the forest ecosystem is the priority ecosystem to be conserved, particularly for younger residents, respondents with high income, and those in the midland and the upstate. This could be attributed to the forest's effect on the ecosystem services that these respondents receive, particularly towards water-related ecosystem services. Understanding the residents' preference provides information that could improve the state water plans and other potential policy implications to land use-land cover planning and landscape sustainability management.
Highlights
Ecosystems services (ES), commonly defined as material and nonmaterial benefits that people receive from the environment (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005), affect the economy and eventually improve society's well-being
We focused on impaired streams - streams that did not meet the water quality standards and at least not open for public access due to water quality issues; water bodies such as lakes, large rivers, and ponds that are evaluated as with good quality (Bureau of Water, 2008; Bureau of Water, 2011; South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, 2018); and protected areas - public and privately protected lands which were classified by US Geological Survey (USGS) through the Protected Area Database of the United States (PAD-US) (US Geological Survey (USGS) Gap Analysis Project (GAP), 2012) and a privately monitored dataset of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in South Carolina
Using the mean value of ranking scores, the results show that residents prioritize the conservation of water-related ecosystem services, particular water quality
Summary
Ecosystems services (ES), commonly defined as material and nonmaterial benefits that people receive from the environment (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005), affect the economy and eventually improve society's well-being. The provision of ES directly improve society's well-being in five dimensions: (1) basic material for a good life, (2) freedom of choice, (3) health, (4) good social relations, and (5) security (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005; Wu 2013; United Nations, 2014). While ES improve societal well-being, their continuous provision is directly dependent on the ecosystem's health and integrity. This reciprocal relationship is the fundamental basis of Social-Ecological Systems (SES) or coupled human-environment systems (CHES) (Wu, 2013). Social-ecological systems' components are focused on people and other organisms using the ecosystem services as the main linkage. This complex system is not merely a summation of “social” and “ecological”
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