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Community priorities, values, and perceptions associated with ecosystem services provided by the socio-ecological landscapes of Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya

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Aditya Pradhan at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment
Aditya Pradhan
Sarala Khaling at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment
Sarala Khaling
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Abstract and Figures

The process of incorporating the priorities of local communities in developing countries is important in the formulation of effective policies for environmental and natural resource conservation. With this outlook, this study was conducted to assess community priorities and socio-cultural values associated with ecosystem services provided by the socio-ecological landscapes. The study was carried out in 31 villages across four major agriculture-based land-use systems of Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya, covering an elevation gradient of 700-2300 m. Data on perception of ecosystem services were collected by focus group discussions (n = 37) using participatory rural appraisal tools, like listing, ranking, and trend analysis. Twenty-eight ecosystem services belonging to provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services were identified as important by the local communities, majority of which were associated with well-being and socioeconomic values of the community. Differences in perception across different localities were observed, which relates to diversified livelihood strategies. Provisioning and cultural services were readily recognized by the local communities; yet, regulating services were valued over them. Provision and regulation of freshwater were found to be the most highly prioritized ecosystem services across the landscape, suggesting the perceived role and importance of freshwater in rural well-being. Local communities perceived declining trends in the availability of many ecosystem services (mostly provisioning), particularly freshwater. This calls for an urgent need for formulation of better policies and management interventions to restore the declining yet highly prioritized services in the rural areas of the landscape, through stakeholder consultations that involve the local communities.
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-023-02028-z
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Community priorities, values, andperceptions associated
withecosystem services provided bythesocio‑ecological landscapes
ofDarjeeling‑Sikkim Himalaya
AdityaPradhan1 · SaralaKhaling1
Received: 29 October 2021 / Accepted: 9 January 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023
Abstract
The process of incorporating the priorities of local communities in developing countries is important in the formulation of
effective policies for environmental and natural resource conservation. With this outlook, this study was conducted to assess
community priorities and socio-cultural values associated with ecosystem services provided by the socio-ecological land-
scapes. The study was carried out in 31 villages across four major agriculture-based land-use systems of Darjeeling-Sikkim
Himalaya, covering an elevation gradient of 700–2300m. Data on perception of ecosystem services were collected by focus
group discussions (n = 37) using participatory rural appraisal tools, like listing, ranking, and trend analysis. Twenty-eight
ecosystem services belonging to provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services were identified as important by
the local communities, majority of which were associated with well-being and socio-economic values of the community.
Differences in perception across different localities were observed, which relates to diversified livelihood strategies. Provi-
sioning and cultural services were readily recognized by the local communities; yet, regulating services were valued over
them. Provision and regulation of freshwater were found to be the most highly prioritized ecosystem services across the
landscape, suggesting the perceived role and importance of freshwater in rural well-being. Local communities perceived
declining trends in the availability of many ecosystem services (mostly provisioning), particularly freshwater. This calls for
an urgent need for formulation of better policies and management interventions to restore the declining yet highly prioritized
services in the rural areas of the landscape, through stakeholder consultations that involve the local communities.
Keywords Ecosystem service· Socio-cultural value· Community priority· Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya· Land-use system
Introduction
Mountains of the world are unique and iconic socio-eco-
logical systems (Klein etal. 2019), that have immense
ecological, aesthetic, and socio-economic significance
associated with them, and resources provided by them are
in great demand even among the people living beyond the
mountains, thus providing ample opportunities to the local
population (MEA 2005). For example, mountains capture,
store, and purify freshwater that is used not only by the local
communities, but also those living downstream. These ben-
efits that humans derive from nature (mountains here) are
called ecosystem services (MEA 2005) and are increasingly
being recognized for their contribution to human well-being
(IPBES 2019). Ecosystem services (ESs) are rarely solely
natural, especially in a socio-ecological system, where they
are co-produced by socio-ecological processes, and are a
result of human-nature interaction (Palomo etal. 2016). For
example, pollination services by bees can be underpinned
by availability of some nectar resources, as well as bee hives
in agroecosystems. Co-production of ESs is defined by the
intensity of human-nature interaction and can vary according
to socio-cultural values associated with them (Spangenberg
etal. 2014).
There are numerous frameworks for assessment of ESs that
can be used to comprehend the benefits provided by different
Communicated by Chandni Singh
* Aditya Pradhan
aditya.pradhan@atree.org
Sarala Khaling
sarala.khaling@atree.org
1 Ashoka Trust forResearch inEcology andtheEnvironment,
Regional Office Eastern Himalaya-Northeast India, NH 10,
Tadong737102, EastSikkim, India
/ Published online: 9 February 2023
Regional Environmental Change (2023) 23:36
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... In the present framework environmental space, such as forest, provides services to the social systems according to their requirements and needs, emphasising forest conservation. Locals apply their socio-cultural values (Dorji et al., 2019;Pradhan and Khaling, 2023) and TEK to manage nearby forests through various means such as declaring the location as a sacred, deity place. These values are individual experiences with respect of forest contribution leading to innate motivations to have belongingness, and safeguard natural resources (Paudyal et al., 2018, Tandarić et al., 2022. ...
... The effectiveness of existing local regulations in forest protection, tourism benefits for the forest and potential commercial uses of forest products such as NTFPs and medicinal plants were also discussed. Descriptions of all the listed CESs were recorded and subsequently compiled to determine their community values (Dorji et al., 2019;Pradhan and Khaling, 2023). For drawing the information about preventive measures, the participants were asked to share ideas on management measures that could be taken to improve the provision of forest ESs in the future (Wangchuk et al., 2021) besides also accounting the perceived threats to VPs communities (Pradhan and Khaling, 2023). ...
... Descriptions of all the listed CESs were recorded and subsequently compiled to determine their community values (Dorji et al., 2019;Pradhan and Khaling, 2023). For drawing the information about preventive measures, the participants were asked to share ideas on management measures that could be taken to improve the provision of forest ESs in the future (Wangchuk et al., 2021) besides also accounting the perceived threats to VPs communities (Pradhan and Khaling, 2023). ...
Cultural ecosystem services nexus with Socio-Cultural attributes and traditional ecological knowledge for managing community forests of indian western Himalaya
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2024
  • ECOL INDIC
Cultural ecosystem services (CES) of community forests (CFs) contribute to human welfare. However, limited information is available about the relationship between traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and households' attributes with CES. The present study evaluates the relationship between TEK and socio-cultural values of households with CESs across community forests (CFs), specifically Van Panchayats (VPs), in the western Hi-malayan region, India. The perceived relevance of six CESs attributes (Intellectual, Inspirational, Cultural, Recreational, Spiritual and Aesthetic) was collected from 104 randomly selected households, followed by eight focused group discussions (8 FGDs) and ten Key Informant Interviews (10 KIs) in VPs of two different forest types (Himalayan Moist Temperate Forest, HMTF, and SubTropical Pine Forest, STPF). The Garret ranking analysis reveals that local communities in the HMTF valued cultural attributes, such as folk and nature rituals, and pristine essence and serenity of aesthetic attributes as the most important CESs. However, the communities in the SPTF valued Recreational attributes, such as Ecotourism, and intellectual attributes, such as VPs management meetings more highly. Out-migration, forest degradation and human-wildlife conflict were identified as major threats to the socio-ecological systems and were adversely affecting the CESs, particularly aesthetic, sense of belongingness, and community harmony. The Kruskal-Wallis's test showed a significant influence (p < 0.005) of socio-demographic variables on the prioritization of perceived CES. The research underscores the importance of acknowledging and appreciating the cultural services of the local communities. This recognition of CES is crucial for enhancing and refining the forest management for achieving conservation and sustainable development of forests.
View
... Eastern Himalaya possesses numerous traditional agricultural systems, all of which are strongly linked to the proper management of the forests around them (Sharma and Rai 2012;Dollo et al. 2009). Further, the local communities here are known to utilize their traditional knowledge to restore degraded lands and put them into more productive and sustainable uses, thus sustainably managing its forests overtime (Pulamte 2009;Pradhan and Khaling 2023). As a result of which, the socio-ecological landscapes of Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya, are characterized by interspersed patches of forests which are either managed by the local community (as in case of private agroforests), private companies (as in case of tea gardens in Darjeeling), or the government (as in case of khasmal forests, and tea garden forest in Sikkim), and fall outside the regime of protected areas and reserve forests. ...
... The decisions regarding forest management are made by the respective land owners. However, this is a traditional approach to forest management in the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya, where the respective landowners are known to actively manage these forest patches surrounding cultivated areas for deriving important ecosystem services like freshwater, fuelwood, timber, fodder, wild edibles, etc. (Pradhan and Khaling 2023). Economically important trees here include Shorea robusta, Tectona grandis, Cryptomeria japonica, Michelia spp., Magnolia spp., Castanopsis spp., Quercus spp., Terminalia spp., etc. ...
... In the current study, Lauraceae (21 species), followed by Moraceae (19 species) had the highest number of species, probably because species of these families have multipurpose values, and are therefore actively conserved and managed by the local communities for the services they provide, as highlighted by a recent study from the same landscape (Pradhan and Khaling 2023). This result is in line with that reported from agroforests of Meghalaya, India (Tynsong and Tiwari 2011). ...
View
... Eastern Himalaya possesses numerous traditional agricultural systems, all of which are strongly linked to the proper management of the forests around them (Sharma and Rai 2012;Dollo et al. 2009). Further, the local communities here are known to utilize their traditional knowledge to restore degraded lands and put them into more productive and sustainable uses, thus sustainably managing its forests overtime (Pulamte 2009;Pradhan and Khaling 2023). As a result of which, the socio-ecological landscapes of Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya, are characterized by interspersed patches of forests which are either managed by the local community (as in case of private agroforests), private companies (as in case of tea gardens in Darjeeling), or the government (as in case of khasmal forests, and tea garden forest in Sikkim), and fall outside the regime of protected areas and reserve forests. ...
... The decisions regarding forest management are made by the respective land owners. However, this is a traditional approach to forest management in the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya, where the respective landowners are known to actively manage these forest patches surrounding cultivated areas for deriving important ecosystem services like freshwater, fuelwood, timber, fodder, wild edibles, etc. (Pradhan and Khaling 2023). Economically important trees here include Shorea robusta, Tectona grandis, Cryptomeria japonica, Michelia spp., Magnolia spp., Castanopsis spp., Quercus spp., Terminalia spp., etc. ...
... In the current study, Lauraceae (21 species), followed by Moraceae (19 species) had the highest number of species, probably because species of these families have multipurpose values, and are therefore actively conserved and managed by the local communities for the services they provide, as highlighted by a recent study from the same landscape (Pradhan and Khaling 2023). This result is in line with that reported from agroforests of Meghalaya, India (Tynsong and Tiwari 2011). ...
Structure, composition, and regeneration status of trees in non-protected forests of Eastern Himalaya
Article
  • Feb 2024
In the socio-ecological landscapes of tropical mountains, including the highly diverse Eastern Himalaya, fragments of natural forests have been traditionally managed as part of different agriculture systems. Recent studies have recognized their role as important biodiversity repositories outside protected areas. However, basic information on forest structure and composition of these forests outside protected areas is still limited in the Himalaya. In the current study, diversity, structure, composition , and regeneration status of non-protected forests were studied across 15 spatially different sites in the socio-ecological landscapes of Darjeeling-Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, across an approximate elevation range of 500-2300 m above sea level. Quadrats (20 m × 5 m) were used to enumerate woody species in the study area. Enumeration of 156 quadrats (= 1.56 ha) resulted in a total of 249 woody species, of which species such as Schima wallichii, Alnus nepalensis, and Engelhardtia spicata were found to dominate the existing stand of trees. The vegetation structure of these forests was found to be almost comparable with that of protected forests, as assessed by prior studies in the same landscape. Species composition of woody plants in the study area were found to be primarily influenced by elevation. Assessment of regeneration patterns found the forests to have a high regeneration potential, however, the most dominant tree species of the area had relatively fewer saplings, indicating probable replacement of localized species of large trees by disturbance-adapted species. The current study adds to the literature on the structure and composition of non-protected forests in the tropical mountains.
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... Social values reflect the benefits ecosystems provide to society and human well-being (MEA, 2005;van Riper et al., 2017), leading to experiences and motivations for managing natural resources (Brown and Fagerholm, 2015). Very few evaluation accounts social values in community-based forests such as in Phewa Lake Watershed, Nepal (Paudyal et al., 2018), and Sikkim Himalayas, Darjeeling (Pradhan and Khaling, 2023). Prioritising specific ES lead to trade-offs among services (Howe et al., 2014), while synergies emerge when shared ES are prioritised among stakeholders (Hicks et al., 2013), essential for effective decision-making and optimizing ES outcomes (Crouzat et al., 2016). ...
... Forty-seven articles pertaining to ES in CF and other forest landscapes were identified, covering the local and regional community perspectives and socio-cultural values crucial for understanding and developing effective policies concerning forest landscape restoration, environmental conservation, and natural resource management (Paudyal et al., 2017b;Pradhan and Khaling, 2023). ...
Community Perception about Ecosystem Services Assessment from Forests Managed under Different Regimes in Hindu Kush Himalaya
Article
  • Sep 2024
The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) faces various challenges detrimental to critical balance for socio-ecological systems resulting in adversely affecting the flow of ecosystem service (ES). With the context, present evaluation attempted to account a comprehensive understanding about flow of forest ES in community forests and other forests across the HKH for sustainable management of forests. We conducted a systematic literature review to critically analyse and understand the community perception about flow of forest ES and suggest a comprehensive framework for ES assessment through community. The ResearchGate, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases were used, employing the PRISMA, followed by the Rayyan for screening the article between 2010 to July 2023. The exclusion and inclusion criteria resulted in 47 articles. About 61.7% of ES assessment articles focussed to forest ecosystem, while 38.3% focused on community forests. The article accounts bias towards provisioning services (∼42.6%) with skewed geographical distribution to Nepal (∼45%) having favours to social values than economic value of forest ES. Various threats to the HKH forests were also identified jeopardizing the community's well-being. Based on evaluation, a comprehensive indicator-based assessment framework was proposed for comprehensive assessment of ES for sustainable management of community and forests. Precisely, identification of threats and integration of trade-offs and synergies in policies along with participatory approach of management i.e. community and government hand holding may contribute to conserve the forests in the HKH along with ensuring sustainable supply of ES to communities.
View
... Thus, several notable gaps could be found after a review of the previous literature. Firstly, most studies assessed the ecosystem services, landslide susceptibility and landslide risk assessment in Darjeeling Himalayan region (Pradhan & Khaling, 2023;Pramanik, 2016;Sandhu & Sandhu, 2014). Secondly, the Darjeeling Himalayan region consists 4 municipalities, but most of the studies run over the entire Darjeeling district, study over a micro area of this hilly region remains limited (Pramanik, 2016;. ...
... Secondly, the Darjeeling Himalayan region consists 4 municipalities, but most of the studies run over the entire Darjeeling district, study over a micro area of this hilly region remains limited (Pramanik, 2016;. Thirdly, in the Darjeeling Himalayan region, minimal research studies were focused on assessing the perspective of ecosystem services (Pradhan & Khaling, 2023;Sandhu & Sandhu, 2014), livelihood assessment (Ganguli & Bhattacharya, 2020; Jairu & Acharya, 2020), landslide risk assessment (Kanungo et al., 2008; Saha, Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved. ...
Assessing ecosystem health of a mountainous city at the neighbourhood level: A case from eastern Himalayan region (India)
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2024
  • Environ Dev Sustain
The mountain ecosystems are important sources of food production and play a significant role in climate and water regulation, carbon sequestrations, and habitat provisions. However, mountain ecosystems have recently been highly threatened due to land use, land cover (LULC), and climate changes. The Darjeeling Himalayan region is well-known as a biodiversity hotspot and ecologically rich area. However, this region has undergone severe threats due to uncontrolled anthropogenic activities and urbanisation. This study aims to assess the spatiotemporal pattern of ecosystem health (EH) at the neighbourhood level from 2001 to 2021 using a pressure-state-response (PSR) framework in a mountainous city in Darjeeling Himalaya. A total of 10 parameters were selected to assess EH, and the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) method has been used to assign the weight of the parameters. The results showed that (a) from 2001 to 2021, the built-up area increased by about 71%, and the vegetation area decreased by 54% (b) 9.38% (3 wards) of the wards fell under the very unhealthy category. However, it increased to 18.75% (6 wards) in 2021, while the number of wards in very healthy category decreased dramatically from 15.63% (5 wards) in 2001 to 9.38% (3 wards) in 2021 (c) very poor and poor EH conditions characterised the wards located in central parts of the city. Thus, the study provides significant findings to understand the spatial pattern of EH conditions and implement strategies to sustain ecosystems.
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... This result is consistent with other global research where mountain ecosystems have provided essential ES such as food and water for residents (Biber et al 2015, Melnykovych et al 2018, Cuni-Sanchez et al 2019, Orsi et al 2020). Furthermore, it can also be observed that among various PES, PES5 and PES2 have gotten the least attention in Himalayan literature(Murali et al 2017, Rai et al 2020, Saeed et al 2022, Pradhan and Khaling 2023. This may be because locals lack awareness and knowledge about animal resources being ES. ...
Spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem services and their valuation across himalayas: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis
Article
Full-text available
The Mountain Ecosystems, such as the Himalayan region, not only provide numerous Ecosystem Services (ESs) to millions of people living in mountainous areas but also provide essential ES to those living downstream. However, there is often an uneven distribution of ES availability and its value across different regions. Therefore, a better understanding of the spatial heterogeneity of ES is required for efficient and sustainable management of ES. This study thoroughly reviews literary data to examine ES’s spatial distribution and economic values across the Western, Central, and Eastern Himalayas. The literature was searched in the Scopus online database using the Boolean method from specific keywords such as ‘Ecosystem Services’ AND ‘Himalayas’. A systematic review of 76 of the most relevant literature sources yielded 31 unique ES divided into three categories: Provisioning (PES), Regulating (RES), and Cultural (CES). The distribution of reviewed literature is relatively balanced across the Himalayas (Western: 30.26%, Central: 32.89%, Eastern: 36.84%); however, the analysis identified a bias towards PES (43.54%), highlighting a need for increased research focus on RES (36.48%) and CES (19.98%). Notably, water-related services such as PES9 (Surface water used as a material (non-drinking purposes)) and PES8 (Surface water for drinking) have been ranked highest in all regions of the Himalayas yet have not been comprehensively studied in terms of their quantification and valuation. Furthermore, while most literature focused on the identification of ES (73.68%), there is a significant lack of attention to quantification (39.47%) and valuation (23.68%) of ES in the region. The average economic values for PES, RES, and CES were 446.75 USD/ha/year, 1128.81 USD/ha/year, and 457.51 USD/ha/year, respectively, indicating higher valuation for RES. This underlines the need for a more balanced research approach that includes identifying and thoroughly quantifying and valuing all types of ES in the Himalayas.
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... where I is the land use intensity index; G i is the intensity grade of the (Brill et al., 2022;Pan et al., 2021;Pradhan et al., 2023) C. Deng et al. Ecological Indicators 167 (2024) 112734 ith land use pattern; C i is the ratio of the ith land use pattern to the total; and n is the number of land use patterns (n = 7). ...
View
... Ecosystems are part of life-support systems and provide goods and services with quantifiable value (Cowx and Portocarrero Aya 2011;Elmqvist et al. 2012). While ecosystems are critical for their biophysical value and functions, recent studies additionally indicate the existing links between biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being (Cardinale et al. 2012;Sandifer et al. 2015;Ament et al. 2017;Pradhan and Khaling 2023), and healthy ecosystems have a significant role to play in this context (Costanza et al. 2022). Evaluating the status of the ecosystems is of serious consideration for a country as populous and biodiverse as India, considering ecosystem health assessment using RLE is a headline indicator for target A of GBF and will be required to mainstream in upcoming National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) produced by the country. ...
Ecosystem Health Assessment in India for Mainstreaming Global Biodiversity Framework Headline Indicator and Prioritising Conservation Action
Article
  • Jul 2024
With the recently adopted Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the significance of ecosystem health and the need for increasing the protected area/other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM) coverage has been reiterated. Ecosystem health assessment or Red Listing of Ecosystems is the headline indicator for target A of GBF. The indicators listed in the IUCN Red Listing of Ecosystems (RLE) have been adopted to monitor the important targets under the Global Biodiversity Framework. Globally, 4279 ecosystems have been assessed using IUCN RLE, and immense potential exists to study the indicators to monitor and classify the health of Indian ecosystems, especially high conservation-value ecosystems. The work presented here synthesises the analyses of the pertinent current global trends in this domain to plan a suitable decentralised approach for assessing ecosystems in India that will be required to be included in the upcoming National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAPs) as per GBF.
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... The ecosystem services (ESs) concept has become a continuous and growing attraction for scientists in recent years (Xiang et al., 2022). ESs mainly include productive, regulatory, cultural, and support services that directly affect human well-being (Pradhan and Khaling, 2023). Approximately two-thirds of these services have been lost due to reasons such as land use change, climate change and rapid population increases over the last century. ...
View
... In the initial stages of the study, information on different local institutions (like village council, clubs, committees, and local NGOs) actively working in the region were collected to identify key informants and organize inception cum awareness workshops in different villages (n = 22), prior to data collection. These workshops were organized as community consultations with a purpose to discuss the key components of the study, and also to seek coordination and partnership with interested groups and local institutions (as done by Pradhan & Khaling 2023). These partners were then approached in the later part of the project to organize CS outreach events in the landscape. ...
Documenting butterflies with the help of citizen science in Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya, India
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2023
The availability of information on the distribution and occurrence of diferent species in a landscape is crucial to developing an informed conservation and management plan, however such information in the Himalaya is often limited. Citizen science, which builds on the knowledge and interest of community to contribute to science, can be a solution to this problem. In this study, we used butterflies as a model taxon in the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya which shows how citizen science can aid in documenting biodiversity. The study employed both citizen science, and researcher-survey approaches to collect data, and the collective efort resulted in 407 species, which is the highest by any study carried out in the region. Results show that citizen science can be helpful as a supplementary tool for data collection in biodiversity documentation projects, and can aid in adding to the diversity and distribution records of species, including those that are unique, rare, seasonal, and nationally protected. Citizen science outreach was used to muster potential participants from the local community to participate in the study. Thus, it is advisable for citizen science projects to find means to recruit a larger pool of contributors, and citizen science outreach can be key to their success.
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Socio-ecological assessment of squamate reptiles in a human-modified ecosystem of Darjeeling, Eastern Himalaya
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2021
Squamate reptiles are among the most underappreciated taxa due to their unappealing esthetics and numerous myths and misconceptions associated with them, depriving them of much needed conservation-related attention. This study was undertaken in a human-modified ecosystem of Darjeeling, Eastern Himalaya, by integrating ecological and social methods to assess the conservation potential of reptiles and understand community perceptions about reptiles. Ecological diversity was investigated by time-constrained visual encounter surveys, whereas key informant interviews (n = 42) using a semi-structured questionnaire examined the perceived diversity, attitudes, and behavior toward reptiles. Results indicated that respondents underestimated the local reptilian-diversity, but recognized their habitats and phenology. Eighty-three percent of key informants believed that squamates are poisonous, whereas 52% suggested that they would kill squamates. Knowledge-building programs that promote citizen science and help in identifying venomous squamates may be key to squamate reptile conservation in the region.
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Water management systems of two towns in the Eastern Himalaya: case studies of Singtam in Sikkim and Kalimpong in West Bengal states of India
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2019
This study examines the water supply systems, their sociopolitical dynamics, and the future of water management in two Indian towns in the Eastern Himalaya, Kalimpong in West Bengal and Singtam in Sikkim. The research was centred around issues of demand and supply, water scarcity and stress, equity, water governance, and the sustainable conservation and management of water resources in a climate change context. Methodologically based on surveys, focus group discussions, and key informants' interviews, this study finds that spring sources are drying alarmingly in Singtam, even as demand is increasing dramatically due to a floating population that is more than the number of local inhabitants. The town suffers from the lack of an adequate reservoir facility and the frequent damage of water supply pipes during the monsoon. Kalimpong faces acute water shortages all year round. The political tug of war between the state government agencies and the local government around the management and supply of water, declining water discharge in spring sources, the lack of water infrastructure for repair, maintenance, and supply, and the glaring inequity between the higher, middle, and lower income groups are the immediate issues around water in Kalimpong. The spring sources that supply drinking water to Kalimpong and Singtam need immediate conservation measures to arrest the declining state of discharge. Micro-planning at the local level, reviving drying springs, and the adoption of appropriate soil and water conservation practices on a watershed basis are all important ways forward. The development of water security plans and their strict enforcement through multi-institutional collaboration can contribute to improved water governance and socioecological restoration for sustainable water resources management.
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Catalyzing Transformations to Sustainability in the World's Mountains
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Full-text available
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Mountain social‐ecological systems (MtSES) are vital to humanity, providing ecosystem services to over half the planet's human population. Despite their importance, there has been no global assessment of threats to MtSES, even as they face unprecedented challenges to their sustainability. With survey data from 57 MtSES sites worldwide, we test a conceptual model of the types and scales of stressors and ecosystem services in MtSES and explore their distinct configurations according to their primary economic orientation and land use. We find that MtSES worldwide are experiencing both gradual and abrupt climatic, economic, and governance changes, with policies made by outsiders as the most ubiquitous challenge. Mountains that support primarily subsistence‐oriented livelihoods, especially agro‐pastoral systems, deliver abundant services but are also most at risk. Moreover, transitions from subsistence‐ to market‐oriented economies are often accompanied by increased physical connectedness, reduced diversity of cross‐scale ecosystem services, lowered importance of local knowledge, and shifting vulnerabilities to threats. Addressing the complex challenges facing MtSES and catalyzing transformations to MtSES sustainability will require cross‐scale partnerships among researchers, stakeholders and decision‐makers to jointly identify desired futures and adaptation pathways, assess tradeoffs in prioritizing ecosystem services, and share best practices for sustainability. These transdisciplinary approaches will allow local stakeholders, researchers and practitioners to jointly address MtSES knowledge gaps while simultaneously focusing on critical issues of poverty and food security.
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Socio-Cultural Values of Ecosystem Services from Oak Forests in the Eastern Himalaya
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2019
Identification and assessment of socio-cultural values of ecosystem services are increasingly important for the planning and management of forest resources. Key information necessary is how different forest user groups perceive and prioritize different ecosystem services based on their local setting. We assessed the socio-cultural values of ecosystem services of high-altitude oak forests in Western Bhutan using participatory approaches with two important forest users: local communities and forest experts. We found that these forests serve as a pool of 22 ecosystem services under four MEA categories of provisioning (9), regulating (8), supporting (2), and cultural (3) services. Fresh water was unanimously identified as the most valuable service, as well as the most vulnerable, by both the groups. The priorities of local communities inclined towards provisioning and cultural services due to their dependence on these services for their livelihood and wellbeing. Forest experts’ priorities were more evenly spread over three categories of services: provisioning, regulating, and supporting services, reflecting their broader interest in resource management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation. Several regulating and supporting services were not easily identified by many villagers, suggesting that bridging the priorities of local interests with broader national forestry goals may require public partnerships and integrated decision-making about the entire suite of ecosystem services. Several management interventions proposed by the groups were presented for consideration by local users, scientists, and policy makers. For all ongoing and future ecosystem service assessments, we recommend the integration of socio-cultural values with biophysical and monetary assessments to fully value the benefits from the high-altitude oak forests.
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Bhutan's Forests through the Framework of Ecosystem Services: Rapid Assessment in Three Forest Types
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Full-text available
  • Oct 2018
Forests in mountain ecosystems provide a diversity of services and goods in mountain landscapes, and the immediate utility of the forest to upstream residents must be balanced with the insurance forests provide for downstream residents in the form of, especially, the services of water regulation and soil stabilization. Little empirical data exist for Bhutan that confirm a causal link between upstream forest use and downstream security. To help to fill this gap, we summarize the results of two literature reviews related to forest ecosystem services and human well-being, using the framework of Bhutan's Gross National Happiness (GNH). We report preliminary findings of three field-based assessments of forest ecosystem services on hillsides. We conducted an assessment of the perceptions of local residents about the forest ecosystem services in three distinct forest areas of Bhutan. The studies were carried out in high-altitude oak forests, forest management units (FMUs) in government reserve forests, and community plantations. We engaged villagers in focus group discussions and conducted key informant interviews. The strongest evidence in the literature for linkages between forests and GNH was found for the role forests play in socioeconomic development and good governance, particularly through the community forestry program. Regulating services of forests were cited as crucial to several aspects of human well-being, but little empirical evidence was provided. To local residents in the three study locations, the provisioning services of forests were highly ranked, as were water regulating services. At the plantation sites, residents felt that the new forests did improve soil stability and water provisioning services. Cultural services were identified but not highly prioritized. Awareness of forest ecosystem services was high among participants in the study, but understanding of the causal links between forest use and human well-being was mixed. Lack of direct evidence about causal pathways between upstream forest condition and downstream security leaves gaps in our knowledge and even perpetuates myths and misconceptions about the role that forests play. We encourage further research at multiple scales and using mixed methods to test hypotheses on the linkages between forests and human well-being in mountain landscapes.
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Revision of the Common International Classification for Ecosystem Services (CICES V5.1): A Policy Brief
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2018
The Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) is widely used for mapping, ecosystem assessment, and natural capital ecosystem accounting. On the basis of the experience gained in using it since the first version was published in 2013, it has been updated for version 5.1. This policy brief summarises what has been done and how the classification can be used.
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Contribution of ecosystem services to rural livelihoods in a changing landscape: A case study from the Eastern Himalaya
Article
  • Oct 2021
  • LAND USE POLICY
Ecosystem services (ES), or tangible and intangible goods and services from nature, are an integral part of the rural economy in Nepal. However, there is limited recognition of their contribution to human wellbeing. To understand the linkages between local people and ES, an integrated assessment based on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment framework was undertaken in Rautamai Rural Municipality of Udayapur District, Eastern Nepal. The study applied three broad approaches and multiple tools. This included a set of participatory tools (10 focus group discussions and 36 key informant interviews), followed by a household survey (439 households), and complemented by geospatial tools. The study identified three major ecosystems, namely forest ecosystems, agro-ecosystems, and freshwater ecosystems on which over 75% households were dependent for their livelihood. Collectively, these ecosystems provide 27 provisioning services, 14 regulating, 6 cultural, and 4 supporting services. Among the three ecosystems, the forest ecosystem provides the maximum number of services (40%). However, about 69% households depend on agro-ecosystems as their primary source of livelihoods. There have been subtle changes in land use over the last 18 years, which has had notable impacts on the flow of ecosystem services, and it reflected in people’s perceptions. The study highlights the importance of ecosystem services and the implications of land use change on the flow of these services and wellbeing of people in rural Nepal. The findings of this study will be instrumental for land use planning and incentive-based conservation being planned by Nepal aimed at building socio-ecological resilience.
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Socio-cultural valuation of Polish agricultural landscape components by farmers and its consequences
Article
  • Feb 2020
  • J RURAL STUD
The current model of agricultural intensification is a threat to traditional agricultural landscapes through landscape simplification and leads to the loss of biodiversity, ecological function and critical ecosystem services in rural areas. The way people perceive and value landscape can be one of the factors that influences landscape structure, especially in situations where nature is perceived from an anthropogenic perspective as a resource that provides short-term economic benefits. The present research investigated the values that farmers from Central Poland assigned to landscape features, including forests, farming areas, non-productive elements and field compositions. In addition, we explored how the preferences towards specific landscape features were influenced by the demographic characteristics of the respondent and his/her place of residence as described by the forest cover of the community and the size of farm holdings. Statements about the justification of the landscape attribute valuations constituted additional qualitative information that was gained from the rural villagers. The results indicated high assessed values of the cultivated fields, forests and meadows and lower values for the features that characterized the mosaic landscape (dirt roads, meadows, mid-field woodlots, solitary trees and their groups, small pools of standing water and patchworks of different fields). The valuation was determined mainly by the utilitarian perspective of the residents and by demographic characteristics, such as age and education. The strict productivity-based valuation perspective threatens the regulating, supporting and cultural services supplied by the agricultural landscape. In this paper, we identified the mosaic elements that build multifunctional landscapes as those that are endangered in the context of the processes occurring in rural areas. These findings were discussed within the perspective of management and the future of traditional agricultural landscapes, which are currently endangered due to the ongoing processes of farm enlargement, demographic changes and agriculture mechanization in Poland.
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Land use effect on butterfly alpha and beta diversity in the Eastern Himalaya, India
Article
  • Sep 2019
  • ECOL INDIC
Conservation of biodiversity in agroecosystems is a global challenge as conversion of forest to agroecosystems has been one of the major causes for biodiversity loss through habitat transformation. The agroecosystems, especially those traditionally managed or organic, are reported to retain high biodiversity including endemic, specialists and conservation concern species. Among others, butterflies are the most vulnerable taxa reacting sensitively and rapidly to climate and habitat changes, and represent as bio-indicators to predict the health of an ecosystem. However, the assessment of land use effect on butterfly diversity has not yet been undertaken in the Eastern Himalayas. Therefore, this study was designed along agroecosystem-forest gradient to understand: the patterns of butterfly alpha diversity taking into account the variation across seasons, elevation, forest specialization and larval host specificity; the patterns of butterfly beta diversity; and plausible environmental determinants of butterfly alpha and beta diversity. We assessed the patterns of taxonomic alpha and beta diversity of butterflies and their determinants in the Indigenous Farming Systems (IFS) {large cardamom-based agroforestry systems (LCAS), mandarin orange-based agroforestry systems (MOAS) and farm-based agroforestry systems (FAS)} along with adjacent natural forests (Forests) in the study area during December 2012–August 2017. We recorded 268 species of butterflies from six families which included two-third forest specialists, onethird monophagous and one-fifth conservation concern species. Along the agroecosystem-forest gradient, alpha diversity of butterflies declined for total, forest specialists, monophagous and protected species. However, pairwise beta diversity increased and the multiple beta diversity was dominated by substitution components. Alpha diversity was determined by tree species richness, tree density, canopy cover, elevation, mean annual precipitation (MAP), season, whereas tree species richness, tree density, tree basal area, canopy cover, elevation, mean annual temperature, and MAP influenced beta diversity. We also identified 15 indicator species dominated by forest specialists suitable for long term ecological monitoring program in the Eastern Himalaya. The organic and traditionally managed agroecosystems of Sikkim play a complementary role to the protected areas (PAs) in fostering biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision, especially in the areas with high human pressure and low PA and forest coverage.
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