How to overcome the implementation gap in ecosystem services? A user-friendly and inclusive tool for improved urban management

One of the main issues with the concept of ecosystem services is its absence on the ground in concrete operational decision-making contexts; that is, an implementation gap. In this study, we investigated if this gap could be overcome through the use of open-source data and free tools, and the adoption of a short-term participatory process. We tested these methods in the context of a project in the urban metropolitan area of Bordeaux (Communauté urbaine de Bordeaux: CUB) in France. The ecosystem services were defined using a participatory approach involving local stakeholders, and then selected scenarios were simulated to test the impact of various development or conservation plans. The study addressed three main questions: (1) Is it possible to adopt a simple methodological approach that overcomes the implementation gap through the development of a user-friendly and inclusive method? (2) What is the added value of a participatory approach? (3) With regards to four scenarios in this territory, what are the ES trends in the selected biophysical and monetary indicators, and will knowledge of these trends help planners to shape a sustainable trajectory for the territory?     

Auction winning,social dynamics and non-compliance in a payment for ecosystem services scheme in Indonesia

Conservation auctions for payment for ecosystem services (PES) are useful to identify the levels of incentives that will cover the opportunity costs of farmers supplying ecosystem services. Although auctions are increasingly used for allocation in PES schemes, the factors that lead to their successful implementation and eventual environmental outcomes are poorly understood in developing countries. We investigated the socio-economic and institutional contexts that led to smallholders' auction winning and eventual compliance using linear mixed-effects models, and post-auction and post-contract surveys. We employed a case study of a conservation contract preceded by a sealed-bid, multiple round, uniform price auction for watershed services from coffee farmers in Lampung, Indonesia. The auction participants presented low education levels, low asset endowments and small plot sizes. The study obtained evidence that farmers with larger plot areas were more likely to win the contracts, suggesting economies of scale. Most farmers considered the auction a fair self-selection mechanism to allocate contracts where allocation was not influenced by power or social rank. Non-compliance was associated with labor availability constraints, short duration of land ownership and existence of previous conservation applications, suggesting lax of capability to invest in applying conservation agriculture. Final bids were however not good predictors of compliance, among other factors, calling into question the potential of auctions to elicit the actual incentive from the farmers. Ensuring that farmers understand the purposes of auctions for effective contract allocation beyond a mere game and identifying farmers that might encounter difficulties fulfilling the contract could increase the likelihood that such a PES scheme would be successful.     

From Supply Chains to Supply Ecosystems: Implications for Strategic Sourcing Research and Practice

Traditionally, sourcing decisions such as what to buy and from whom to buy it were viewed as clerical in nature. Today, however, many executives view sourcing decisions as strategic and these decisions are being made from more prominent positions within firms. Indeed, over time more companies are embracing the concept of strategic sourcing—making acquisition decisions with the intent of creating value and achieving a competitive advantage. In this article, we introduce the Special Topic Forum articles on strategic sourcing and performance. Each offers important implications for strategic sourcing research and practice. An overall implication is that some traditional supply chains appear to be giving way to supply ecosystems, which represent a set of interdependent and coordinated organizations that share common adaptive challenges and that collectively shape the creation and nurturing of a sourcing base that contributes to competitive advantage and superior performance. We offer several theoretical perspectives that hold promise for explaining supply ecosystem functioning and outcomes. In terms of practice, firms need to adapt their strategic sourcing to this evolution or run the risk of being weakened.     

基于生态位适宜度的区域创新生态系统与创新效率研究

由于区域内创新资源的有限性，区域创新生态系统中创新主体生态位之间的重叠程度对创新效率的影响愈发的显著，基于此本文运用生态位适宜度评价模型对我国30个省市 2011~2015 年的创新生态系统适宜度水平进行了测度，并分别与运用超效率数据包络分析法所测得的区域知识创新效率和产品创新效率进行了面板数据的回归分析。结果显示，区域创新生态系统的生态位适宜度对两个阶段的创新效率均具有正向的相关关系，但这种影响只具有短期的时间维度，并不存在两年及以上的相互作用。区域创新生态系统的对外开放会对产品创新阶段的创新效率产生负面影响，同时会促进知识创新阶段创新效率的提高。最后，在协调系统内部各生态位之间的发展关系时，应注重区域内经济发展水平对两个阶段创新效率的促进作用。     

Local ecological knowledge reveals effects of policy-driven land use and cover change on beekeepers in Costa Rica

Land use and cover (LUC) change is a major driver of ecosystem service loss worldwide. In response, policymakers have designed conservation strategies that incentivize the establishment and maintenance of LUC types associated with higher ecosystem service provision. Many of these policies also aim to promote social and economic goals such as reducing poverty. Attempts to measure the impact of policy-driven LUC change on stakeholders typically focus only on economic outcomes for landowning participants or aggregate the socio-economic outcomes of diverse groups. In this study, we applied local ecological knowledge (LEK) held by beekeepers in Costa Rica to understand the impact of policy-driven LUC change on this specific group of often non-landowning stakeholders. Beekeeping is a globally important rural livelihood and provides pollination services to crops and wild plants. We synthesized beekeeper LEK using a mixed-methods approach including apiary mapping exercises (n = 215 apiaries), questionnaires (n = 50 participants), and follow-up interviews (n = 21 participants). Our study revealed that some policy-driven LUC changes have limited beekeepers’ access to preferred land uses, such as secondary and mature forests with native trees. Participants reported concern for their livelihoods due to policy-driven spatial and temporal change of floral resources via the establishment of tree plantations, changes in pasture management, and laws that prohibit beekeeping in national parks and reserves. Our study provides evidence of unintended outcomes from land use policies, including Payment for Ecosystem Services, with disproportionate negative impacts on non-landowning residents who depend on natural resources in the landscape for their livelihoods. Our study illustrates potential inequality rising from current incentive mechanisms associated with Payments for Ecosystem Services and other conservation policies and calls for policymakers to consider LUC change impacts on non-landowning stakeholders.     

Ecosystem cross‐sector collaboration: conceptualizing an adaptive approach to sustainability governance

This paper explores the theoretical underpinnings of collaboration and ecosystem management in order to identify the relationships and processes involved in implementing ecosystem management programs through cross‐sector collaboration. Ecosystem management requires a highly adaptive and resilient social–ecological governance approach, which addresses spatiality and temporality issues. In order to explore possible implementation issues with ecosystem management, propositions are developed dealing with adaptive governance, institutional isomorphism and collective action. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretic underpinnings involved in implementing ecosystem management through cross‐sector collaborations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Towards a Smart Tourism Business Ecosystem based on Industrial Heritage: research perspectives from the mining region of Rio Tinto,Spain

The implications of the study provide suggestions for future improvements relating to the development of industrial tourism destinations. The possibility of ‘re-using’ the old industrial and mining heritage could favour the development of an economic opportunity to the recession that affected most industrial regions after the 1960s. This paper is focused on the field of industrial heritage tourism management (IHTM) to deepen the knowledge about its business ecosystem. The IHTM is chosen because a number of evidences highlight the interconnections that exist between this field and the business ecosystem concept. To explore these interconnections, the purpose of this article is to define a frame of analysis based also on the emergent initiative of smart tourism and to set up a theoretical framework not only used to the case study of the region of Rio Tinto mine in Spain, but also used as a policy instrument to suggest propositions for recommending new paths for future studies.     

居民生态补偿意愿影响因素研究

基于条件价值评估法设计调查问卷,对哈尔滨市居民随机调查,建立结构方程模型,以此分析影响居民生态补偿意愿的关键因素。研究表明:影响居民生态补偿意愿的因素有学历、家庭收入、对生态补偿以及生态重要性的认知程度,而且学历和家庭收入有双向关系,学历对居民的生态补偿及生态重要性的认知程度有正向影响。因此,提出提高人们的文化程度以提升居民的生态补偿意愿;加大生态补偿的宣传力度,从而增强居民的生态补偿意识等建议。     

基于模糊综合评价模型的天津滨海新区城市生态系统健康评估

在分析城市生态系统健康评估研究进展的基础上,采用层次分析法建立城市生态系统健康评价指标体系,然后利用模糊数学模型,以天津市滨海新区为案例,进行城市生态系统健康评估。结果表明,近年来天津滨海新区城市生态系统处于亚健康状态,总体状况并没有明显改善。主要原因是在经济快速增长的同时,第二产业比重过高,能源消耗大量增加,环境质量较差,虽然投资力度加大,但仍有恶化趋势,未来改善压力大。如果不从整体上加大产业结构改善,加大环境保护和生态建设,将大大影响滨海新区的可持续发展。     

青海湖流域生态系统服务功能与价值评估

在中国生态系统服务价值基准单价的基础上,通过生物量等因子的订正,构建了青海湖流域的生态服务功能单价表,并在此基础上对青海湖流域的生态服务价值进行了评价。结果显示:青海湖流域2007年的生态系统服务功能总价值为340.88×108元。生态服务价值从大到小为:水体>草地>湿地>灌丛>农田>荒漠,其中,废物处理功能贡献最大,原材料生产功能贡献最小。研究对青海湖流域生态环境安全和区域可持续发展具有重要的理论指导和现实意义。