Focal Areas for Measuring the Human Well-Being Impacts of a Conservation Initiative

Leisher, Craig; Samberg, Leah H.; Beukering, P.J.H. van; Sanjayan, M.

doi:10.3390/su5030997

Cited by 44 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Humans are dependent upon the services provided by nature and unless we effectively account for the range of values from ecosystems in our efforts to protect the environment, we cannot sustain human well-being [1,2]. Land use and land cover change (LUCC) is a driver of global change that directly influent the status and integrity of ecosystems and in last term its capacity to supply ecosystem services [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does the Ecological Well-Being of Urban and Rural Residents Change with Rural-Urban Land Conversion? The Case of Hubei, China

2018

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Human well-being can be affected by the loss of ecosystem services from conversion of agricultural lands. Uncovering negative ecological consequences of rural-urban conversion is important for regulating rural-urban land conversion. This paper evaluates the impacts of rural-urban land conversion on the ecological well-being of different interest groups in China and makes policy recommendations for mitigating them. This research empirically quantifies and compares changes in the ecological well-being of rural and urban residents due to rural-urban land conversion and examines how transformation factors affect such changes in Hubei, China using the Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation Model. Results show that compared with urban residents, rural resident ecological well-being level declines more obviously with rural-urban land conversion. Two socio-demographic characteristics, age and education level, as well as zoning characteristics, influence both rural and urban resident well-being changes. It is argued that there is a need for quantitative measurement of agricultural ecosystem services changes and that the construction of ecological compensation policies in areas undergoing rural-urban land conversion is essential for regulating rural-urban land conversion and for maintaining resident ecological well-being.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does the Ecological Well-Being of Urban and Rural Residents Change with Rural-Urban Land Conversion? The Case of Hubei, China

2018

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“…Going further, a growing literature on well-being has emphasized the need for context-specific indicators of well-being for diverse peoples (Dodge et al 2012, La Placa et al 2013, Leisher et al 2013. Sometimes called the "biocultural" approach (Sterling et al in press), this work emphasizes a more fine-grained analysis of the characteristics of well-being as defined by people in different environments.…”

Section: Well-being and Conservation: Definitions And Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new approach to conservation: using community empowerment for sustainable well-being

Wali¹,

Alvira²,

Tallman³

et al. 2017

E&S

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ABSTRACT. The global environmental conservation community recognizes that the participation of local communities is essential for the success of conservation initiatives; however, much work remains to be done on how to integrate conservation and human wellbeing. We propose that an assets-based approach to environmental conservation and human well-being, which is grounded in a biocultural framework, can support sustainable and adaptive management of natural resources by communities in regions adjacent to protected areas. We present evidence from conservation and quality of life initiatives led by the Field Museum of Natural History over the past 17 years in the Peruvian Amazon. Data were derived from asset mapping in 37 communities where rapid inventories were conducted and from 38 communities that participated in longer term quality of life planning. Our main findings are that Amazonian communities have many characteristics, or assets, that recent scholarship has linked to environmental sustainability and good natural resource stewardship, and that quality of life plans that are based on these assets tend to produce priorities that are more consistent with environmental conservation. Importantly, we found that validating social and ecological assets through our approach can contribute to the creation of protected areas and to their long-term management. As strategies to engage local communities in conservation expand, research on how particular methodologies, such as an assets-based approach, is needed to determine how these initiatives can best empower local communities, how they can be improved, and how they can most effectively be linked to broader conservation and development processes.

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“…In the case of social cohesion, an additional challenge is the categorization of this concept. Leisher et al [70] found that sixteen human well-being indices accounted for social cohesion; the authors categorized this concept on the basis of social relationships, community, connectedness, intergroup cohesion, and social capital. Others have accounted for social capital and cohesion and have assigned an intrinsic value to social cohesion (i.e., the desired ends), such as trust or cultural norms, as well as an instrumental value to social capital [36].…”

Section: Implications Of Adapting the Cascade Model To Social Cohesiomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, Barnes-Mauthe et al [71] measured social cohesion as a dimension of social capital. Some have suggested that local conditions should be the basis for defining social capital indicators, as the context highly determines the results [70,72]. Here, we applied the dimensions proposed by Kearns and Forrest [66] to interrelate the potential benefits from UA with the creation of social cohesion values.…”

Section: Implications Of Adapting the Cascade Model To Social Cohesiomentioning

confidence: 99%

From Cascade to Bottom-Up Ecosystem Services Model: How Does Social Cohesion Emerge from Urban Agriculture?

Petit‐Boix

Apul

2018

Sustainability

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Given the expansion of urban agriculture (UA), we need to understand how this system provides ecosystem services, including foundational societal needs such as social cohesion, i.e., people's willingness to cooperate with one another. Although social cohesion in UA has been documented, there is no framework for its emergence and how it can be modeled within a sustainability framework. In this study, we address this literature gap by showing how the popular cascade ecosystem services model can be modified to include social structures. We then transform the cascade model into a bottom-up causal framework for UA. In this bottom-up framework, basic biophysical (e.g., land availability) and social (e.g., leadership) ecosystem structures and processes lead to human activities (e.g., learning) that can foster specific human attitudes and feelings (e.g., trust). These attitudes and feelings, when aggregated (e.g., social network), generate an ecosystem value of social cohesion. These cause-effect relationships can support the development of causality pathways in social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) and further our understanding of the mechanisms behind social impacts and benefits. The framework also supports UA studies by showing the sustainability of UA as an emergent food supplier in cities.

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Focal Areas for Measuring the Human Well-Being Impacts of a Conservation Initiative

Cited by 44 publications

References 35 publications

How does the Ecological Well-Being of Urban and Rural Residents Change with Rural-Urban Land Conversion? The Case of Hubei, China

How does the Ecological Well-Being of Urban and Rural Residents Change with Rural-Urban Land Conversion? The Case of Hubei, China

A new approach to conservation: using community empowerment for sustainable well-being

From Cascade to Bottom-Up Ecosystem Services Model: How Does Social Cohesion Emerge from Urban Agriculture?

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