Mapping and assessing ecosystem services for sustainable policy and decision-making in Eritrea

Esmail, Blal Adem; Cortinovis, Chiara; Wang, Jingxia; Geneletti, Davide; Albert, Christian

doi:10.1007/s13280-023-01841-4

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 64 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The ecosystem service concept is an important integrated framework in sustainability science [8], as a bridge between natural and social ecosystems [9], ecosystem services are important for maintaining the ecological balance of cities and promoting the sustainable development of urban areas [10]. Mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services (MAES) is recognized as a crucial step toward sustainable policies and decisions that promote human well-being and preserve life-sustaining ecosystems; it can be integrated into the design of future policies with a direct impact on ES and biodiversity conservation, thereby enhancing sustainable management of natural capital at national and sub-national Land 2024, 13, 691 2 of 23 levels [11]. And the research on estimating the future value of ecosystem services in global scenarios also made the connection clearer between future human well-being and the well-being of the rest of nature in quantitative terms [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Threshold Effects between Ecosystem Services and Natural and Social Drivers in Karst Landscapes

Zhao,

Zhou,

Luo

et al. 2024

Land

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It has been shown that there are thresholds of influence on the response of ecosystem services to their drivers, and the range of drivers that provide high levels of ecosystem services can be delineated through thresholds. However, due to the spatial heterogeneity of landscapes in karst regions, the results of ecosystem service threshold studies in non-karst regions may not be applicable to karst regions. This study explores the threshold effects between ecosystem services in karst landscapes and their natural and social drivers. It is shown that there are nonlinear constraints between them, and different critical thresholds exist for different kinds of ecosystem services. The main thresholds for water supply services include the slope (43.64°) and relief amplitude (331.60 m); for water purification services, they include relief amplitude (147.05 m) and distance to urban land (DTUL) (32.30 km); for soil conservation services, they include the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (0.80) and nighttime light intensity (43.58 nW∙cm−2∙sr−1); the main thresholds for biodiversity maintenance services include population density (1481.06 person∙km−2) and distance to urban land (DTUL) (32.80 km). This enables regional ecological conservation planning based on different threshold ranges corresponding to different ecosystem services to meet the different needs of different decision makers.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Threshold Effects between Ecosystem Services and Natural and Social Drivers in Karst Landscapes

Zhao,

Zhou,

Luo

et al. 2024

Land

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Mapping and Analyzing Ecosystem Services Hotspots and Coldspots for Sustainable Spatial Planning in the Greater Asmara Area, Eritrea

Adem Esmail,

Cortinovis,

Geneletti

et al. 2024

Environmental Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rapid urbanization in African metropolises like the Greater Asmara Area, Eritrea, poses numerous environmental challenges, including soil sealing, loss of vegetation cover, threats to protected natural areas, and climate change, among others. Mapping and assessing ecosystem services, particularly analyzing their spatial and temporal distribution is crucial for sustainable spatial planning. This study aims at mapping and analyzing ecosystem services hotspots and coldspots dynamics in the Greater Asmara Area to identify recent trends and opportunities for enhancing ecosystem services supply. Utilizing remote sensing images, we produced land cover maps for 2009 and 2020 and mapped six ecosystem services through a lookup table approach. The study includes provisioning, regulating and maintenance, and cultural ecosystem services. We analyzed their spatio-temporal variations, identifying ecosystem services hotspots and coldspots and their changes over time. Results show that overall ecosystem services potential in the Greater Asmara Area remains low but stable, with some improvements. By 2020, areas with no ecosystem services potential decreased in southern regions like Gala Nefhi and Berik, and new hotspots and coldspots emerged in central Gala Nefhi. This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility and key challenges of the ecosystem services hotspots and coldspots approach for sustainable spatial planning in rapidly urbanizing African metropolitan regions. Despite limitations, the study offers valuable insights into ecosystem services potentials, and related hotspots and coldspots dynamics, raising awareness and paving the way for further research and application.

show abstract

Growing mismatches of supply and demand of ecosystem services in the Netherlands

de Knegt,

Lof,

Le Clec'h

et al. 2025

Journal of Environmental Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mapping and assessing ecosystem services for sustainable policy and decision-making in Eritrea

Cited by 4 publications

References 64 publications

Threshold Effects between Ecosystem Services and Natural and Social Drivers in Karst Landscapes

Threshold Effects between Ecosystem Services and Natural and Social Drivers in Karst Landscapes

Mapping and Analyzing Ecosystem Services Hotspots and Coldspots for Sustainable Spatial Planning in the Greater Asmara Area, Eritrea

Growing mismatches of supply and demand of ecosystem services in the Netherlands

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About