Stakeholder Analysis on Ecosystem Services of Lake Manyara Sub-basin (Tanzania): How to Overcome Confounding Factors

The Influence of Ambient Weather Conditions on Stated Preferences for Ecosystem Services Management

One of the assumptions in stated preference studies is the stability of respondents' preferences. This assumption might be violated in situations of context dependence, i.e., when the contingent situation influences respondents' choices. Ambient weather conditions (AWCs) are one element of the context that may influence stated preferences. The literature suggests that AWCs affect people's emotions, behaviors, and decision-making processes; however, the potential AWCs impact in environmental preference studies has not yet been investigated. This aspect is of high importance because context-dependent choices return biased willingness to pay estimates and affect the subsequent welfare analysis that informs public policy. To shed light on this important aspect of non-market valuation studies, we explore the effect of AWCs on preferences elicited with a Discrete Choice Experiment for ecosystem services management of a Nature Park. Results of a generalized mixed logit model evidenced a significant effect of AWCs on respondents' choices, with good weather conditions leading to higher preferences and willingness to pay for ecosystem services management. This result, which is consistent with previous psychological studies, raises the issue of sampling design and reveals the importance of a sensitivity analysis of WTP. As this issue is still unexplored in stated preference studies, we also encourage undertaking similar studies to add a priori knowledge for more accurate ex-post calibration of WTP estimates.

Does China Pakistan Economic Corridor become an avenue to achieve sustainable development goal no. 2 (food security) in Pakistan: Under the condition of COVID-19?

The post Covid-19 era steer towards stakeholder thinking, which demands to look for sustainable solutions in terms of other epidemics and food security is one of the most notable for the developing world. In South Asia, China Pakistan Economic Corridor could be an avenue for multi-layered socio-economic assistance where Pakistan can seek solution for one epidemic (food security) while engaged with the effects of pandemic through studying all the stakeholders. This could be a roadmap for the west-east or developed-underdeveloped countries reliance on one another for food security through economic corridor alike settings. Academically, it has been projected by the plethora of research that holistically and inclusively, stakeholder analysis is lacking in the available reservoir of research. Methodologically, the stakeholder analysis was performed in three layers-identification, investigation through social networks, and communication by prioritization matrix. The findings suggested that apart from stakeholders' differences in regard to interest, influence and knowledge, all of them agreed with the argument that China Pakistan Economic Corridor has enviably and irrefutably positive effects on food security. The policy implications project the need for integrated reports of various ministries to be unidirectional for having synergical effect and taking all the stakeholders into consideration as leaving any group behind will repeat the past results.

Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Water Resources Management-Tools, Policies, Promising Pathways

Ecosystems provide a range of services, including water purification, erosion prevention, and flood risk mitigation, that are important to water resource managers. But as a sector, water resources management has been slow to incorporate ecosystem protection and restoration, for a variety of reasons, although related concepts such as nature-based solutions and green infrastructure are gaining traction. We explain some of the existing challenges to wider uptake of the ecosystem services concept in water resources management and introduce some promising avenues for research and practice, elaborated in more detail through 12 papers, spanning five continents and a variety of contexts, which make up a Special Issue on "Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Water Resources Management". Cross-cutting themes include (A) ecosystem services as a flexible concept to communicate with stakeholders; (B) participatory processes to involve stakeholders in research; (C) multiple values, and valuation methods, of water-related services; and (D) applications of decision-support tools. We conclude with a summary of research gaps and emphasize the importance of co-producing knowledge with decision makers and other stakeholders, in order to improve water resources management through the integration of ecosystem services.

Stakeholders, Institutional Challenges and the Valuation of Wetland Ecosystem Services in South Sudan: The Case of Machar Marshes and Sudd Wetlands

A number of wetland ecosystem-services valuation studies around the world have been carried out, however, most of these studies have focused on wetlands in developed countries and few have been conducted in Africa, particularly in South Sudan. Thus, this study is conducted to value ecosystem services and identify the role and interests of stakeholders of the Machar Marshes and the Sudd wetlands for sustainable wetland management in the Nile basin. Market price and benefit transfer approaches have been applied to value the wetlands biodiversity and ecosystem services, by adjusting for income and price differences. In addition to environmental valuation methods, we conducted stakeholder analysis. Accordingly, Machar Marshes wetland provides an estimated per annum economic value of $200 million, of which the provisioning services contributed about $61 million, regulating services $132 million, and biodiversity services $7.35 million considering the 2015 price as a base year. Similarly, the Sudd wetland provides an estimated per annum economic value of 2.3 billion, of which regulating is about $1.2 billion, biodiversity $857 million, provisioning $209 million, and transportation service $293,400. The findings show that the ecosystem services from the wetlands have benefits beyond the local communities. Thus, to maintain and ensure sustainable wetlands ecosystem services, stakeholders should play a significant role to implement alternative wetland development options through managing the existing institutional challenges. Ecosystem-services assessment and wetland development options suffer from weak institutional capacity due to prolonged conflicts and instability and physical inaccessibility to critical natural resources in the wetlands.

Collaborations in Environmental Initiatives for an Effective “Adaptive Governance” of Social–Ecological Systems: What Existing Literature Suggests

Moving from the scientific literature on the evaluation of environmental projects and programs, this study identifies how and under which conditions collaborations in environmentally sustainable projects are considered effective for the adaptive governance of SES. The method adopted is a systematic literature review based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of 56 articles selected through specific queries on the SCOPUS database and published from 2004 to 2020. Results of the quantitative analysis identify conditions able to evaluate collaborations, highlighting the need to adopt a transdisciplinary approach analysing both social and ecological challenges and assessing both social and ecological results. Moreover, they suggest preferring using primary data involving multi-sector and multi-scale actors and enlarging the geographical context to the most vulnerable countries. The results of the qualitative analysis provide specific recommendations for collaborations being effective when related to communication, equity, foresight, and respect, which need to be further strengthened by all actors. Multiplicity in visions and approaches should be seen as a resource able to stimulate creativity in social arrangements and environmental practices, making collaborations in environmental projects instrumental for the effectiveness of adaptive governance of SES.