Land Use-Based Participatory Assessment of Ecosystem Services for Ecological Restoration in Village Tank Cascade Systems of Sri Lanka

Sujith S. Ratnayake (), Azeem Khan, Michael Reid, Punchi B. Dharmasena, Danny Hunter, Lalit Kumar, Keminda Herath, Benjamin Kogo, Harsha K. Kadupitiya, Thilantha Dammalage and Champika S. Kariyawasam
Additional contact information
Sujith S. Ratnayake: Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre, School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Azeem Khan: Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre, School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Michael Reid: School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Punchi B. Dharmasena: Faculty of Agriculture, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Mihintale 50300, Sri Lanka
Danny Hunter: The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Via di San Domenico, 1, 00153 Rome, Italy
Lalit Kumar: East Coast Geospatial Consultants, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia
Keminda Herath: Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Gonawila 60170, Sri Lanka
Benjamin Kogo: School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Harsha K. Kadupitiya: Natural Resources Management Centre, Department of Agriculture, Peradeniya 20400, Sri Lanka
Thilantha Dammalage: Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre, School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Champika S. Kariyawasam: Ministry of Environment, Battaramulla 10120, Sri Lanka

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-21

Abstract: Village Tank Cascade System (VTCS) landscapes in the dry zone of Sri Lanka provide multiple ecosystem services (ESs) and benefits to local communities, sustaining the productivity of their land use systems (LUSs). However, there is a lack of adequate scientific research on the ESs of LUSs, despite the recent land use changes that have greatly impacted the provisioning of ESs. Collection of baseline ESs data is a pre-requisite for decision making on ESs-based ecological restoration and management of the VTCS. Thus, this study aimed at assessing ESs of the Mahakanumulla VTCS (MVTCS) located in the Anuradhapura district of Sri Lanka by using a participatory approach involving the integration of local knowledge, expert judgements and LUSs attribute data to assess the ESs. The methodology was designed to integrate the biodiversity and land degradation status of LUSs in a way that is directly linked with the supply of ESs. The study identified twenty-four ESs of the MVTCS based on community perceptions. The identified ESs were assessed as a function of LUSs to develop an ecosystem service supply (ESS) and demand (ESD) matrix model. The results reveal that the current overall ESD for regulating and supporting ESs is higher than the ESS capacity of MVTCS. The assessment also revealed that land degradation and biodiversity deterioration reduce the capacity to provide ESs. Downstream LUSs of the meso-catchment were found to be more vulnerable to degradation and insufficient to provide ESs. Further, the study established that ESs in the MVTCS are generated through direct species-based and biophysical-based providers. In addition, it emerged that social and cultural engagements also played an important role in association with both providers to generate certain types of ESs. Therefore, it can be concluded that VTCS ecological restoration depends on the extent to which integrated effort addresses the levels of ecological complexity, as well as the social engagement of communities and stakeholders. The results of this study provide a scientific basis that can inform future land use decision making and practices that are applicable to successful ESs-based ecological restoration and management of the VTCSs in the dry zone of Sri Lanka.

Keywords: village tank cascade system; ecosystem services; land use systems; ecosystem services mapping; ecosystem services trade-offs; ecosystem services-based ecological restoration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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