11th Drop: Threats and Management Approach towards Ecosystem Services?

~HELLO!! It's the last day of term! Hope everyone is doing well and ending it on a good note :)

Threats towards Ecosystem Services?

Through the posts from the past 2 to 3 weeks, it is clear that there are various complex interactions and feedbacks that occur between the socio-economic system of people and the ecological system of the ecosystems. While we have covered how climate change and climate variability might affect the functioning of lake ecosystem services, we have not covered in much detail the other anthropogenic threats that challenge these lake ecosystems and their services. Today's post will thus cover a fairly recent and short article on how ecosystems of lakes in Africa are under threat. Through such an understanding of humans' influence on ecosystem services degradation, there is hence a greater impetus for a more interdisciplinary and integrated management approach towards governing these lake ecosystems.

Ecosystem Resilience and Livelihood Strategies under Threat

African lakes have been described as highly productive centers of biodiversity providing critical ecosystem services that support the life cycles and livelihoods of species and humans respectively. Kafumbata et al. (2010) thus highlights that because of these key ecosystem services provided by African lakes, these areas have become 'magnets for migration and local centers of population growth'. The authors go on to explain the various anthropogenic threats of unsustainable resource management and exploitation that result from high demand by rapidly increasing populations of these lake areas (specifically for Lake Chad, Lake Chilwa and Lake Naivasha). Such anthropogenic threats relating to resource use and food security, along with climate variability were seen as the key challenges surrounding the management of African lakes. The authors then go on to introduce some programmatic responses to these challenges which largely revolved around more interdisciplinary and integrated approaches towards bridging knowledge generation and policy making, integrating the sustainability of natural resource management with livelihoods in light of future population demands and climatic variability.

Here are some of my thoughts on the article:

1) Anhropogenic impacts on African Lakes' ecosystems and their associated services

• High productivity of African Lakes: various provisional, regulating and supporting ecosystem services that benefit people living around the lakes
• People dependent on ecosystem services: food security and livelihoods (sale of resources)
• Authors point that lakes thus become 'magnets for migration' very valid
• Services and resources offered serve as a major pull factor to attract migrants and retain locals seeking social protection mechanisms for food due to social/ political/ climate disturbances
• Increasing demand due to population growth puts stress on ecosystems (negative anthropogenic impacts of various socio-economic activities like irrigation, fishing and harvesting)
• Authors also highlight how high levels of poverty might result in more unsustainable resource usage and inappropriate management of ecosystem given climatic variations
• ? Beyond simplistic argument of high levels of poverty, perhaps a clearer explanation behind unsustainable resource usage could be that of lack of knowledge and consequences by locals?
• ? As well as inadequate institutionalised 'safety nets' by governments during extreme events to help locals adapt: poor locals living near lakes are forced to prioritize short-terms needs over long-term sustainability?

> Negative anthropogenic impacts on lake ecosystems in Africa can largely be explained by the increasing demand being placed on the ecosystems and their associated services. The influence of socio-economic contexts and activities on ecosystem services functioning thus should not be underestimated and neglected. More importantly the degradation of ecosystem services have complex feedback effects on socio-economic contexts and activities as highlighted in the previous post because of the linkages and dependence of socio-economic activities on ecosystem services. Such complexity is further complicated by climate variability, affecting stocks and flows of ecosystem services and goods thus exacerbating feedback effects. Hence anthropogenic stresses along with climate variability serve as key factors that challenge ecosystem services functioning, and again the need for a more interdisciplinary understanding of interactions/ linkages between socio-economic activities and ecological processes/ ecosystem services is re-emphasized.

2) Towards a more integrated management approach?

• Authors go on to highlight integrated lake management plans being implemented in Lake Chad, Lake Chilwa and Lake Naivasha
• Authors also briefly explain how these management plans aim to reverse ecosystem degradation and achieve more sustainable natural resource and ecosystem service use that is in line with livelihoods and development requirements of locals
• Similar interdisciplinary approach towards understanding how ecosystem services and ecological processes are linked with socio-economic development was advocated throughout the different management plans
• Such an understanding is intended to bridge the gap between knowledge generation and policy level decision-making
• ? An interdisciplinary approach would also benefit from greater inclusion of local knowledge and perspectives - leading to more equitable and sustainable development as well ?
• Most importantly such an integrated and interdisciplinary approach that integrate sustainability of natural resource management with livelihoods can better inform policy makers to make decisions that will take into account future demands and climatic variations that will affect food security and ecosystem services

> The call for an integrated management approach is not necessarily in conflict with the call for more adaptive management highlighted in last week's post. Ultimately both articles emphasize on the need for a more interdisciplinary approach that takes into account interactions and linkages between socio-economic influences and ecological processes of ecosystem services. Similarly with adaptive management, integrated management would benefit from a more inclusive and equitable approach. More importantly the challenge of system heterogeneity or more specifically complex dynamic systems of lake ecosystems must similarly be addressed be management approaches - management approaches must recognise and embrace such heterogeneity and complexities.

THANKS for reading this post! Hope you have enjoyed this fairly short (I hope) article and wish you guys a good and enjoyable Xmas break! :)

~ Till Next Time ~

Photo of Lake Chad from National Geographic Society by John Scofield

10th Drop: Human and Natural system dynamics of fisheries in Lake Victoria

~ HI THERE!! Hope everyone is doing well and here is another interesting article I found :)

Ecosystem services and Social system dynamics?

I ended off last week's post with a point on how there is a need for greater understanding of the interactions between the physical aspect of ecosystem services and the human aspect of ecosystem services exploitation/ degradation. But indeed such an understanding is definitely easier said than done. Today I will cover an article, similarly on Lake Victoria, which attempts to understand the complexity of such interactions between humans and the lake ecosystem with reference to the provisioning ecosystem service of fisheries. Hopefully this article will reinforce the complexities, but also highlight the potential in understanding coupled ecosystem and social system dynamics.

Coupled Human and Natural system dynamics, Lake Victoria

The importance of the provisioning ecosystem service of fisheries within Lake Victoria for the millions of people on the lake have been emphasized time and time again. While there are plenty of research on the different aspects of Lake Victoria's fisheries system (eg. stock dynamics, lake biodiversity, eutrophication, fishing communities and market systems) these research have largely been separate and narrowly focused. Downing et al. (2014) thus seeks a more multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the fisheries system dynamic as a whole so as to capture the system-wide chain reactions/ effects that result from disturbances in a particular aspect.

This is done through developing a qualitative model of the lake's social-ecological system of the fisheries, using expert knowledge from different fields and from respective social and ecological subsystem stakeholders. The model is then investigated through a qualitative loop analysis where feedback loops - pathway of interactions that go from a component and back to itself, through other components defined in the system - in the system were identified. These feedback loops were assigned +ve or -ve signs depending on whether it "reinforces" process or "self-regulates" process respectively. Feedback loops identified were then classified into nutrient 'enrichment' loops, eutrophication loops and exploitation loops to investigate how disturbances through such forms might have system wide chain reactions. Detailed findings about the different feedback loops are explained in the article itself.

Here are some thoughts that I had from the article:

1) Complexity of coupled ecosystem and social system dynamics/ interactions

• authors emphasized the interconnection diagram between ecosystem and social systems
• highlighted that there are multiple pathways to a single phenomenon
• complexity of the entire system: changes can initiate and drive different dynamic regimes
• eg. high connectivity of fisheries between owners and markets, adaptability of fishers and access to both international and domestic markets...allow for changes in stocks
• possible +ve impact on social-economic system where fishers are more robust to the loss of the international market
• but also -ve impact on ecosystem where more stocks are vulnerable to exploitation, dampening the self-regulating exploitation feedback loop 
• despite such complexities, high connectivity and multiple pathways of interactions...it also represents multiple tools to management

> The article has clearly articulated the complexity and interconnections surrounding ecosystem service of fisheries in Lake Victoria. It is definitely beyond just ecological understanding of the ecosystem itself but also involves interactions with social-economic system of markets and livelihoods. The importance of understanding such interactions could not be further emphasized by how even slight disturbances can result in unpredictable changes that cascade throughout the entire system via feedback loops. Such understanding is even more important, and hopeful, for management of ecosystem services as it highlights the presence of multiple tools to a problem. For example the article highlights the need to go beyond just fisheries stock management and for more explicit eutrophication and biodiversity management to address concerns relating to the ecosystem service of fisheries production.

2) System Heterogeneity and Adaptive Management

• authors also emphasize that dominant processes shaping lake dynamics are heterogeneous in both space and time
• temporal changes to ecosystem service of fisheries production in Lake Victoria is not foreign: sudden collapse of native Tilapia species and dominance of introduced Nile Perch
• spatial heterogeneity in terms of eutrophication effects across the lake: inshore-offshore gradients
• heterogeneity + complexity of the system highlighted above + unpredictable seasonal and interannual variations in weather due to climate change => significant management challenges
• authors highlight the need to first understand the different spatio-temporal scales at which different processes dominate first
• such understanding should go hand-in-hand with understanding the interactions between ecosystem and social system dynamics
• need for adaptive management approach that recognises and embrace such heterogeneity
• adaptive management (Ostrom 2009) requiring stakeholders to work together and develop a common understanding and knowledge of their system
• making of management choices as key part of the learning process
• knowledge constantly developed from changes resulting from different choices made
• hence constantly adapting management/ policies

> Such system heterogeneity, connectedness and complexity is not unique to just Lake Victoria but definitely prevalent throughout other ecosystems (wetlands, forest and even agricultural areas) in Africa. Hence there are significant challenges and complexities surrounding these ecosystems and the management of ecosystem services. A clear understanding of the processes at work - in terms of scales at which they dominate and the possible cascading effects as a result of interconnections - will thus go a long way in helping to formulate appropriate management plans. The suggestion of adaptive management is definitely a valid one but not without its own challenges. The first big question would be the involvement of multiple stakeholders and ensuring equity in representation. Secondly significant will and commitment will need to be invested by all stakeholders in the development of a comprehensive understanding and management plan of the lake's coupled ecosystem and social system. 

THANKS for reading this fairly wordy post :P Hope that this article has been as interesting for you as it has been for me! :)

~Till Next Time~

Photo of Lake Victoria in 1985 by Vintage National Geographic

9th Drop: Ecosystem Services - Tradeoffs, Synergies and Poverty Traps?

~ HELLO!! Thanks for visiting and hope everyone had a good week :)

Conceptual Framework of Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem services as a concept was known to have originated from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which highlighted the integral role and dynamic interactions between people and the components of their surrounding ecosystems. Beyond just formally defining the meaning of the different ecosystem services that we have covered, the assessment also draws out critical conclusions on the current state of our ecosystems and the imminent threats (basically degradation and over-exploitation driven by rapid growth in human demands) that our ecosystems are facing. Hence the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is definitely well worth a read. Now a key point highlighted in the report, but also in my post previously, was that of tradeoffs between ecosystem services. Today we will thus be looking at an article on Lake Victoria which uses the conceptual framework of ecosystem services (the different services and the dynamic interactions between people and ecosystems) to show that beyond just tradeoffs, their are also synergies and 'poverty traps' to be found.

Tradeoffs, Synergies and Traps among Ecosystem Services, Lake Victoria

Previously we covered the importance of Lake Victoria in terms of fisheries output for fishers living near the lake itself and the detrimental impacts that might occur if this provisioning ecosystem service collapses. However fisheries output is merely one small aspect of ecosystem services provided by the ecosystems within Lake Victoria (second largest freshwater lake in the world). Swallow et al. (2009) thus compares the provisioning ecosystem services of crop production against that of the regulating ecosystem service of reduction of sediment yield. This was to investigate tradeoffs between the 2 ecosystem services across space (distribution due to land-use differences across the 2 basins being studied) and across time (due to land-use changes over time) and thus provide evidence to evaluate the possibilities of tradeoffs, synergies and poverty traps. In particular the authors refer to 'poverty traps' where some farmers within the basins are caught in a vicious poverty-environment trap of low production, low investment and hence continued ecosystem degradation. More importantly this article is significant in identifying out areas where land-use management is of particular concern - of no additional economic value and at risk of ecosystem degradation - further reinforcing the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment's point on dynamic interactions between humans our surrounding ecosystems.

Here are some of my thoughts after reading the article:

1) Tradeoffs in provisioning service of agricultural production - spatially and temporally

• Spatially both Nyando and Yala showed significant differences in agricultural production across the entire basin
• Temporally Nyando was subjected to greater land-use changes and corresponded with greater tradeoffs made for provisioning services: loss of forests and wetlands
• Yala showed a relatively constant area of natural vegetation but instead land-use changes in the types of agricultural crops being harvested
• More importantly Figure 3C within the article highlighted the changes in agricultural production in economic terms, as a result of land-use changes over time
• Tradeoffs were made not only between ecosystem services but also within provisioning service of agricultural production itself i.e. what type of agricultural crops to be planted for economic reasons
• There is a clear relationship between altitude and value of production from both temporal and spatial anaylsis
• Value of production low at lower altitudes but higher in mid-to-upper altitude
• Likely because higher altitude areas are upstream of basin and less impacted by impacts on ecosystem health caused by land-use changes
• Compared to lower altitude areas which are more likely to be impacted by upstream users

> The significance of these findings is thus as highlighted previously - in identifying areas within the basin where land-use changes are of particular concern. More specifically areas where the expansion of agricultural land is greatly threatening forest and wetland habitats which are both critical to the wider Lake Victoria ecosystem. At the same time the consideration of the difference agricultural products being planted at different areas also highlight the human aspect of the ecosystem services concept. Ultimately tradeoffs between agricultural production and the environment is down to a matter of management choices made by humans.

2) Tradeoffs, Synergies or Poverty Traps?

• Results suggest no significant relationship between provisioning (agricultural production) and regulating (reduced sediment yield) ecosystem services
• Figure 4A and 4B adequately highlights the distributions of what the authors identified as tradeoffs, synergies and poverty traps
• Roughly equal number of areas within the basin where tradeoffs and synergies are found
• Both virtuous environment-poverty cycle and vicious poverty-environment traps are found as well
• Vicious poverty-environment traps are especially found within the mid-altitude part of Yala (supported by earlier studies) and low-mid altitude zones in Nyando
• As emphasized by the authors the main solutions to poverty-environment traps and tradeoffs cannot be found from the environment and water sector alone
• Incorporation of the agriculture sector is important, especially because it is a key source of livelihood and economic development for locals within the basin
• Understanding of the various agricultural crops in terms of their environmental impacts due to their practices, as well as their economic value would help authorities advice farmers to make the appropriate choices
• An extension of the study to other provisioning services such as livestock production and timber harvesting can also be conducted to further capture different ecosystem services

> Article appropriately reinforces the point that the understanding of ecosystem services is not just simply that of understanding the physical aspect of ecosystems, but more about the human aspect of interactions between people and their ecosystems. It has reinforced my previous understanding of tradeoffs between ecosystem services and highlighted how there is no fixed relationship governing such tradeoffs. As mentioned in the previous point, careful consideration of our management choices is thus needed for the sustainable use of our ecosystem services. This is especially so in the context of development in Africa where economic development and livelihoods are so clearly and tangibly tied to their surrounding environment and ecosystems.

THANKS for staying with me through this post! Hope it has been as useful for you guys as it has been for me! :)

~ Till Next Time ~

Photo of sunset over Lake Victoria from safari.co