the role of science to support healthy rural landscapesrural landscapes landscapes: areas...
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The role of science to support healthy rural landscapes
Louise (Wieteke) WillemenDepartment of Natural Resources, ITC Utwente.
With examples from: Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University EcoAgriculture Partners, Washington DC Landscapes for People Food and Nature Initiative
Science to support healthy rural landscapes
Linking research actors and tools to support landscape management
Today’s presentation1. What do we need to know and when?2. Who knows what?3. Are we on the right track?
2
1. Trajectory thinking2. Transdisciplinairy collaboration 3. Steps for action
Rural landscapes
● Landscapes: areas continuously shaped by humans and nature (social‐ ecological systems)
● Expectations: food, energy, water, livelihoods, health, culture, cc mitigation, adaptive
● Landscape view: to capture and manage dynamics, synergies, and trade‐offs among multiple stakeholder interests and land units
ES in healthy rural landscapes
People
AgricultureFinancial mechanisms
Land and governance interventions (restoration, farming practices, access, markets)
Well‐functioning ecosystems, nutritious food, generating income, benefit sharing
Landscape
Effective landscape measures
●Growing interest in landscape approaches to agricultural systems
● Exceed field level measures: collaborative multi‐actor process
● Change trajectory: costly, uncertain future outcome● Landscape interventions: process!
Landscape science
● Seeks to understand interactions between people and their environment on a landscape level
● Multidisciplinary issues and reviews ● Spatial multi‐level character landscape ● Behavior and land management decision making● Future and past drivers of landscape change● Tele‐connections of land management
● Need for scientific guidance to support planning and management processes addressing multiple objectives
Rounsevell et al 2012; Sayer et al 2013; and Veldkamp, et al 2011, Sohl and Calggett 2013
Science to support healthy rural landscapes
To support planning and management processes addressing multiple objectives,
●What do we need to know and when?●Who knows what? (and has the tools)
Decision‐making
Assessment phase
Planning phase
Management phase
Decision makers
Iterative, non‐linear
Landscapes & Decision‐making
Assessment phase
Planning phase
Management phase
Decision makers
Biophysical system
Land‐use system Social system
Landscapes & Decision‐making
Biophysical system
Land‐use system
Social system
Decision makers
Assessment phase
Planning phase
Management phase
Landscapes & Decision‐making
Biophysical system
Land‐use system
Social system
Decision makers
Assessment phase
Planning phase
Management phase
Diverse contexts
What is the current state of the landscape and its supply
of ecosystem services?
What is the demand for ecosystem services from the
different stakeholder groups?
What intervention options & locations could address
societal needs?
What is the impact of interventions on different ecosystem service and beneficiary
groups?
How to best implement and manage an intervention?
How to measure impact to support adaptive landscape management?
Science, Landscapes & Decision‐making
Assessment phase
Planning phase
Biophysical system
Land‐use system
Social systemLandscape function
assessment
Valuation and financing
Impactassessment
Management phase
Decision makers
Designadvise
Governance advise
Environmental economists
Sociologists
Geographers
Agronomists and foresters
Ecologists
Hydrologists and soil scientists
Social assessment
Tools and actors
ARIES, Co$ting Nature, EcoServ, InVEST, LUCI,
MIMES, SolVES
Bayesian belief networks, Participatory methods, Who
Counts Matrices
Citizen juries, Delphi surveys, PRA, PES, MES
LUC Scenario, ABM, IIA
Science pathway
Science to support healthy rural landscapes
● Are we on the right track?
Phase Landscape management question Landscape science activityAssessment What is the current state of the
landscape and its supply of ecosystem services?
Map and quantify ecosystem services
What is the demand for ecosystem services from the different stakeholder groups?
Provide a framework to support a common understanding of the concept of ecosystem services as landscape benefits
Assess stakeholder needs and valuesPlanning What intervention options or
scenarios could address societal needs?
Evaluate and define relevant landscape interventions and scenarios in space and time
What is the impact of interventions on different ecosystem service and beneficiary groups?
Perform and evaluate integrated impact assessments, highlight tradeoffs and synergies
Provide guideline support decision making of the selectionmost desirable landscape intervention or scenario
Management How to best implement and manage an intervention?
Provide guidelines for spatial targeting and timing of interventions or investments
Provide guidelines to design adequate governance systems
How to measure impact to support adaptive landscape management?
Provide metrics and guidelines to monitor and evaluate change
But should we evaluate science, as a science pathway?
Science to support rural landscapesthrough research and practice
● Science‐ land management pathways● Accurate spatial and temporal methods and data● Linking individual approaches & actors; challenging reality● Joint research program? Who decides? Standards?
● Support effective landscape interventions● Prescriptive guidelines for landscape management● Evidence for enabling organizations (legal, markets, finance)● Need for a ‘Science of Implementation’ ?
● Facilitation (“Landscapes are difficult”)● Reduce risks, costs● Facilitate communication, research and landscape actors
research and management approaches that cross boundaries
Thank you.
Premises of healthy landscapes
●Diverse landscape provide more ES vs simplified ones
● Build ES management in into agricultural practices●Help people within capture benefits from ES