Studies highlight the local perception of ecosystem services

Studies highlight the local perception of ecosystem services

Subject : Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Context:

Ecosystem services are conventionally evaluated only by ecological and economic values. Now, two studies investigate what local communities perceive as sociocultural values of ecosystems.

Details:

• Recent studies are proposing adding a new dimension to the conventional evaluation of ecosystem services — sociocultural values or the non-material well-being provided by the ecosystem and the importance assigned to them by the people.
• Determining the socio-cultural values of ecosystem services could support policymaking. Many current policies are observed to be in discordance with community priorities.
• Researchers highlight the need to adequately compensate for the contribution of indigenous people and local communities in nature conservation and resource management.

Study findings:

• The study was done in Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats.
• Freshwater emerged as one of the most valuable natural commodities in the Himalayan study while non-timber forest produce (NTFP) is most valuable for the Western Ghats study.
• In the Himalayan region, the declining freshwater availability is due to:
  • The unequal distribution of freshwater
  • Unplanned growth in village tourism
  • Poor waste disposal plans, and
  • Road construction around freshwater springs
• The declining trend in accessing forest produce like firewood.

Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary:

• Location: Shimoga district of Karnataka, India.
• Fauna:
  • The sanctuary is home to species of animals such as white-backed vultures, Indian nightjar, and white-bellied dingo.
  • Some other animal species such as tigers, king cobras, slot bears, leopards, elephants, langurs, and pythons reside in dense forest areas.

Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary:

• The Biligirirangana Hills or Biligirirangan Hills is a hill range situated in south-western Karnataka, at its border with Tamil Nadu (Erode District) in South India.
• The area is called Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary or simply BRT Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It is a protected reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
• Being close to the Eastern Ghats as well as the Western Ghats, the sanctuary has floral and faunal associations with both regions.
• The site was declared a tiger reserve in January 2011 by the Government of Karnataka, a few months after approval from India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority.
• The BR hills are a starting point of the Eastern Ghats and contact the border of the Western Ghats, allowing animals to move between them and facilitating gene flow between populations of species in these areas.
• Thus, this sanctuary serves as an important biological bridge for the biota of the entire Deccan plateau.

What are Ecosystem Services?

• They are “the benefits people derive from ecosystems”. Besides provisioning services or goods like food, wood and other raw materials, plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms provide essential regulating services such as pollination of crops, prevention of soil erosion and water purification, and a vast array of cultural services, like recreation and a sense of place.
• These services can further be classified into:
  • Provisioning services.
  • Regulating services.
  • Support services.
  • Cultural services.