Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to identify dryland ecosystem service trade-offs under different rangeland land uses

N. Favretto, L.C. Stringer, A.J. Dougill, M. Dallimer, J.S. Perkins, M.S. Reed, J.R. Atlhopheng and K. Mulale

Ecosystem Services, 2016, vol. 17, issue C, 142-151

Abstract: Land degradation undermines ecosystem service provision, limiting economic returns from semi-arid rangelands. We apply a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to assess the value of ecosystem services, using monetary and non-monetary techniques in semi-arid rangelands in Kgalagadi District, southern Botswana. In doing so, we provide an empirical understanding of the linkages between policy, land use and the provision of ecosystem services based on the perspectives of local stakeholders identified through interviews and a workshop consultation. Findings suggest communal grazing provides the widest range of monetary and non-monetary values linked to ecosystem service delivery. Current economic incentives and policy initiatives supporting the livestock sector, linked to fencing and borehole drilling, create perverse incentives that over-emphasise commercial food production at the expense of other services. We identify a need for policy reforms to support livelihood diversification through the provision of a wider range of ecosystem services, and for further research to explore market opportunities for veld products and carbon trading. We show that MCDA offers a useful holistic assessment framework that could be applied more widely to semi-arid rangelands globally.

Keywords: Sustainable land management; Land degradation; Kalahari; Southern Africa; Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041615300693
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:17:y:2016:i:c:p:142-151

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.12.005

Access Statistics for this article

Ecosystem Services is currently edited by Leon C Braat

More articles in Ecosystem Services from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().