Understanding Ecosystem Services Adoption by Resource Managers and Research Ecologists

Abstract

Ecosystem Services (ES), or the benefits people obtain from ecosystems, have gained much prominence in natural resource management over the past two decades as a relatively comprehensive approach to decision-making and policy design. However, to date we know little about whether and how natural resource practitioners, from ecologists to resource managers, have adopted the ES paradigm into their respective work. Here, I address this knowledge gap by asking resource managers and research ecologists about whether and how they integrate ES into their respective work. I conducted a survey of federal, state, provincial and tribal resource managers in the Great Lakes region to gather information on their perception and use of ES as well as the relevance of specific services to their work. Although results indicate that fewer than 31% of the managers said they currently consider economic values of ES, 79% of managers said they would use economic information on ES if they had access to it. Additionally, managers reported that ES-related information was generally inadequate for their resource management needs. I also assessed managers by dividing them into identifiable groups (e.g. managers working in different types of government agencies or administrative levels) in order to evaluate differential ES integration. Overall, results indicate a desire among managers to transition from considering ES concepts to quantifying economic metrics, indicating a need for practical and accessible valuation techniques. I also evaluated research ecologists’ integration of the ES paradigm because they play an important role by contributing requisite ecological knowledge for ES models. I surveyed and interviewed ecologists from a scientific agency asking questions similar to those asked of managers. I then compared the two population’s responses. Ecologists and managers almost unanimously agreed that it was appropriate to consider ES in resource management. Their answers also converged regarding the specific kinds of services most relevant to their work. However, ecologists appeared to overestimate the adequacy of ES-related information they provide, while managers reported the information was inadequate for their needs. This divergence may reflect a need to hire economists in this system who can aid in translating ecological models into estimates of human well-being.