Envisioning alternative futures of cultural ecosystem services supply in the coastal landscapes of Southwestern Ghana, West Africa

Abstract

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) in Southwestern Ghana evoke a strong sense of attachment of local land users to the landscape. Hence, their supply is necessary for a balanced socio-ecological system. This study explored the potential supply of cultural ecosystem services (science/education, spiritual, tourism, health and recreation benefits) under different land use planning (LUP) scenarios in Southwestern Ghana. Future LUP scenarios were developed and articulated with a diverse group of land-use planning actors (LUPAs) such as regional land use planners, environmental experts, researchers, farmers and landowners. The scenarios covered business-as-usual, mangrove ecosystem restoration, market-driven growth, and the establishment of an “eco-corridor” as green network. A spatially explicit modeling platform, GISCAME, which combines Geographic Information System and Cellular Automaton modules and multicriteria evaluation was used to evaluate the developed scenarios. Outcomes of the study revealed that in the coastal landscape of Southwestern Ghana, values, perceptions and preferences of LUPAs underpin socio-ecological interactions aimed at maintaining and enhancing CES supply. In addition, it indicated that future supply of CES is characterized by an interplay between multiple and diverse perspectives about plausible land-use futures. Perceptions of, and preferences for, CES align with land-use visions related to afforestation, infrastructure development, agriculture expansion and tourism. In the study area and similar contexts where an array and diversity of individual and societal values exist, effective negotiation and facilitation are essential for harnessing and optimizing land-use planning for CES supply.

Modeling the Impacts of Coastal Land Use Scenarios on Ecosystem Services Restoration in Southwest Ghana, West Africa

“…Coastal and interconnected marine ecosystems supply an array of ES for the wellbeing of the dependent coastal population in Ghana 61 . Based on the results of prior studies on ES supply in the study region, locally relevant ES were identi ed and selected for impact assessment of land use scenarios on ES restoration 27,41 . Cultural ES are generally created through human perception of ecosystems and the biophysical environment 62 .…”

“…In this study, we utilized land management experts' judgements to obtain estimates of recreation bene ts based on a ranking criterion (see section 2.3.4). Recreation bene ts were selected as the coastal landscape and adjoining seascape have unique tourist attractions including scenic beaches (bare surfaces), water bodies, pristine mangrove forests and green spaces (shrublands) that offer recreation opportunities 27 . Among potentially relevant provisioning and regulating ES in the study context, a speci c set of ES were determined according to data availability.…”

“…Drivers of these land use changes are population growth and implementation of transportation infrastructure development plans, notably for road network expansion and establishing railway line connections between Ghana and neighboring Cote D'Ivoire along the coastal corridor 69 . Built-up infrastructure expansion is also related to coastal tourism development to enhance recreation experience in tourist destinations along the coast 27 .…”

“…Participatory scenario development and assessment have increasingly proven to be valuable heuristic tools for engaging ecosystem restoration actors in goal-setting processes and the collective development of plausible ES provision futures in West Africa [25][26][27] . Incorporating local knowledge in scenario composition revealed that future urbanization and deforestation land use patterns will reduce ES provision in West African agricultural landscapes 28,29 .…”

“…Restoration of the region's critical biodiversity habitats such as mangroves, peatlands, lagoons, estuaries, rocky reefs and benthic ecosystems can mitigate marine biodiversity loss and recover such ecosystems and the functions and services they provide. Particularly, in the coastal landscapes of Southwest Ghana, different restoration initiatives are underway and aim to advance the protection of pristine coastal habitats and restore degraded ecosystems to enhance ES supply 27,41 . However, research on land use scenario planning in West Africa has focused attention on ES provision potentials due to land use changes in agricultural and production landscapes 26,28,42 .…”