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Assessing community values to support mapping of ecosystem services in the Koshi river basin, Nepal

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  • van Oort, Bob
  • Bhatta, Laxmi Dutt
  • Baral, Himlal
  • Rai, Rajesh Kumar
  • Dhakal, Madhav
  • Rucevska, Ieva
  • Adhikari, Ramesh

Abstract

Human activities and climate change are key factors impacting ecosystem functions and its goods and services, which are important to the livelihoods of mountain communities. In Nepal, community based ecosystem management has been widely adopted as a way to secure local management and empowerment, but local knowledge, perceptions and values of ecosystem change and services are often ignored, and perhaps inadequately understood, in decision-making processes at district or national level. Our objective therefore was to develop a multi-method approach to support mapping of ecosystem services and assessing their local values. Local perceptions of ecosystem use, change and values were identified using participatory mapping, key informant and focus group discussions, and an extensive household survey carried out in the upstream Koshi River basin. Results were cross-validated with scientific literature, statistics and remote sensing data. Key ecosystem services identified are water, agricultural produce, and various forest products, most of which show a declining trend. We demonstrate that the use of different methods and levels of input results in different and complementary types of insights and detail needed for balanced and informed decision-making regarding sustainable management of ESs to secure current and future livelihoods and ecosystem functioning.

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  • van Oort, Bob & Bhatta, Laxmi Dutt & Baral, Himlal & Rai, Rajesh Kumar & Dhakal, Madhav & Rucevska, Ieva & Adhikari, Ramesh, 2015. "Assessing community values to support mapping of ecosystem services in the Koshi river basin, Nepal," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 13(C), pages 70-80.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:13:y:2015:i:c:p:70-80
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.11.004
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    14. Baral, Himlal & Guariguata, Manuel R. & Keenan, Rodney J., 2016. "A proposed framework for assessing ecosystem goods and services from planted forests," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(PB), pages 260-268.
    15. Shoyama, Kikuko & Kamiyama, Chiho & Morimoto, Junko & Ooba, Makoto & Okuro, Toshiya, 2017. "A review of modeling approaches for ecosystem services assessment in the Asian region," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 26(PB), pages 316-328.
    16. Wells, Geoff J. & Stuart, Neil & Furley, Peter A. & Ryan, Casey M., 2018. "Ecosystem service analysis in marginal agricultural lands: A case study in Belize," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(PA), pages 70-77.
    17. Everard, Mark & Gupta, Nishikant & Chapagain, Prem S. & Shrestha, Bharat Babu & Preston, Guy & Tiwari, Prakash, 2018. "Can control of invasive vegetation improve water and rural livelihood security in Nepal?," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(PA), pages 125-133.
    18. van den Belt, Marjan & Stevens, Sharon M., 2016. "Transformative agenda, or lost in the translation? A review of top-cited articles in the first four years of Ecosystem Services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(PA), pages 60-72.
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    20. Saeed, Uzma & Arshad, Muhammad & Hayat, Shakeel & Morelli, Toni Lyn & Ali Nawaz, Muhammad, 2022. "Analysis of provisioning ecosystem services and perceptions of climate change for indigenous communities in the Western Himalayan Gurez Valley, Pakistan," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    21. Chettri, Nakul & Aryal, Kamal & Thapa, Sanjan & Uddin, Kabir & Kandel, Pratikshya & Karki, Seema, 2021. "Contribution of ecosystem services to rural livelihoods in a changing landscape: A case study from the Eastern Himalaya," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    22. Quyen, Nguyen Thi Kim & Berg, Håkan & Gallardo, Wenresti & Da, Chau Thi, 2017. "Stakeholders’ perceptions of ecosystem services and Pangasius catfish farming development along the Hau River in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 2-14.
    23. Kusi, Kwadwo Kyenkyehene & Khattabi, Abdellatif & Mhammdi, Nadia & Lahssini, Said, 2020. "Prospective evaluation of the impact of land use change on ecosystem services in the Ourika watershed, Morocco," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

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