Integrating Participatory Methods and Remote Sensing to Enhance Understanding of Ecosystem Service Dynamics Across Scales

Jennifer Hodbod, Emma Tebbs, Kristofer Chan and Shubhechchha Sharma
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Jennifer Hodbod: Department of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Emma Tebbs: Department of Geography, King’s College London, London WC2B 4BG, UK
Kristofer Chan: Department of Geography, King’s College London, London WC2B 4BG, UK
Shubhechchha Sharma: Department of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA

Land, 2019, vol. 8, issue 9, 1-30

Abstract: The value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) for informing resource management has long been recognized; however, its incorporation into ecosystem services (ES) assessments remains uncommon. Often “top-down” approaches are utilized, depending on “expert knowledge”, that are not relevant to local resource users. Here we propose an approach for combining participatory methods with remote sensing to provide a more holistic understanding of ES change. Participatory mapping in focus group discussions identified TEK regarding what ES were present, where, and their value to communities. TEK was then integrated with satellite imagery to extrapolate to the landscape-scale. We demonstrate our method for Nyangatom communities in the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, showing for the first time the ES impacts of regional environmental change, including the Gibe III dam, for communities in the Omo River basin. Results confirmed the collapse of flood-retreat cultivation associated with the loss of the annual Omo flood. Communities reported declines in many other provisioning ES, and these results were supported by satellite mapping, which showed substantial reductions in land covers with high ES value (shrubland and wetland), leading to consequent ES declines. Our mixed-methods approach has potential to be applied in other regions to generate locally relevant information for evaluating ES dynamics and improving management of natural resources.

Keywords: traditional ecological knowledge; ecosystem service mapping; livelihoods; Omo River; Gibe III; Nyangatom; hydropower development; shrubland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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