Valuing nature's contribution to people: The pollination services provided by two protected areas in Brazil

Abstract

The assessment of nature's contribution to people (NCP) is an important strategy for decision-making given the increasing need to reconcile biodiversity and human society with conservation. A monetary and a non-monetary approaches were combined to evaluate the pollination services provided by two Brazilian protected areas (PAs) in northern (Serra da Bocaina, Pará) and southeastern region (Mata do Jambreiro, Minas Gerais) within the Amazon forest and Atlantic forest biomes, respectively. The monetary valuation methodology was based on the role of pollination for crop production in the municipalities surrounding the PAs, and the non-monetary involved estimating the areas with wider range of resources for sustaining pollinators. In Serra da Bocaina, the total annual monetary value of the pollination services performed by bee species was estimated at approximately 564,000 dollars and in Mata do Jambreiro, 246,000 dollars, both for 2016. The non-monetary valuation highlighted the PAs and their surrounding areas with denser plant coverage. The methods used in this study allowed us to evaluate and integrate different types of information: bee diversity data, the spatial data of the PAs and their surroundings, and the economic value of the agricultural production of the neighbouring municipalities. The results can be applied in management and sustainability studies aiming to increase awareness about the importance of PAs and their value and importance for agricultural production. This study demonstrates where efforts can be concentrated for future proposals for valuating pollination services and conservation strategies, especially in areas where data are scarce.