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MILJØFORSK-Miljøforskning for en grønn samfunnsomstilling

CultES - Assessing spatially explicit cultural ecosystem services for adaptive management in the Alpine North

Alternative title: CultEs - romlig analyse av kulturelle økosystemtjenester for adaptiv forvaltning i alpine landskap

Awarded: NOK 4.3 mill.

Adaptive management that takes into account cultural ecosystem services requires knowledge of what the general public and various interest groups prioritize. In CultEs, the purpose has been to evaluate novel methods for identifying the diversity of values that people attributes to nature, and which can also be used to integrate cultural ecosystem services in landscape planning and conservation. Participatory internet mapping was conducted in 21 municipalities in Sogn / Oppland and in Midtre Nordland. The purpose was to identify the natural values that different groups consider important as well as where in the landscape they were located. The distribution of cultural ecosystem services in the landscape was best explained by protected areas, property and accessibility through roads and paths. Demography and land cover /vegetation had less to say for the general public when mapping important areas. All user groups prioritized aesthetic- and recreational values, but local residents distinguished themselves from visitors by placing more emphasis on traditional harvesting and cultural identity. Visitors were largely confined to established cabin-to-cabin trails, while locals mapped values in other parts of the park. In other words, it is important to identify where in the landscape different user groups experience cultural ecosystem services to assess potential conflict areas. Participatory mapping also revealed that motorized use and predator control had the largest conflict potential. CultEs has used a variety of analytical methods to identify how the cultural ecosystem services are distributed in the landscape. We have also mapped the desired changes in the management as by various interest groups. In addition to internet mapping, we have used social media, mobile app mapping, and observable indicators in the field. PPGIS have so far proved to be the most robust method for identifying values on a large scale for a large number of people. This is also supported by the fact that the distribution of cultural ecosystem services in the landscape in the North corresponded with South when conducting spatial value transfers. Participatory mapping can be used in the initial phase of adaptive management to help ensure that goals reflect local needs. Institutions that facilitate learning through management actions is also important for successful adaptive management. In CultEs, we focused specifically on the new local reform and the visitor strategy in the protected areas. We found that the reform to local governance has led to increased number of permits for development, motorized traffic and other uses in the protected areas. At the same time, the public and stakeholders from different sides had relatively high confidence in advisory councils and local boards. The local institutions therefore seem to have the necessary support for learning and adaptive management of protected areas. In order to maintain this support over time, it is possible that the advisory councils should have a slightly broader representation. There is a big overweight of landowners and men in the advisory councils. The councils support protected areas downgrading for economic development, while local residents mapped preferences conform with the protected area regulations we have today. The protected area regulations have not changed much after the reform and generally allow more traffic, harvesting and predatory control than protected areas in other countries. This could be challenging for implementing the new visitor strategy, which aims to increase the number of tourists and revenues from the protected areas. The visitior strategy is also expected to enhance the quality of the visitor experience without impairing natural and cultural values in the protected areas. In a side project we have also investigated analytical methods that can enhance adaptive management of the natural goods that visitors value.

Begrepet økosystem tjenester er i ferd med å finne veien inn i norsk naturforvaltning. Mens mye av forskningen har dreid seg om å kartlegge og overvåke økosystem tjenester, er det kun noen få empiriske studier som analyserer økosystemtjenester i relasjon til sosial verdier og brukernes preferanser. Spesielt gjelder dette kulturelle økosystem tjenester på lokalt nivå. Adaptiv forvaltning av naturverdier som er viktige både på lokal og globalt nivå krever utvikling av metodikk og overvåkningstilnærminger so m i større grad ivaretar koblingen mellom brukerpreferanser og storskala analyser. I dette prosjektet tester vi ut ny teknologi (internett PPGIS, IPAD apps, økoinformatikk) som kan bidra til en slik kobling. Sosiale preferanser kartlegges ved hjelp av int ernett PPGIS over en relativt stor skala som omfatter mange kommuner og verneområder i Nasjonalparkriket og Midtre Nordland. Dette bidrar med en romlig analyse av fordelingen av naturverdier for ulike brukergrupper. Internett PPGIS, fjernmåling - og GIS m odellering danner utgangspunkt for steg 2 i prosjektet. Vi tar et utvalg av kommunene og verneområdene for å gjennomføre dybdestudier av kulturelle økosystem tjenester og lokal adaptiv forvaltning, og for å kartlegge og modellere økologiske kvaliteter ide ntifisert som viktige både av besøkende og lokale. I prosjektet analyseres årsakene til den romlige fordelingen av økosystem tjenester i landskapet, hvilke naturverdier som egner seg for adaptiv forvaltning, samt ny teknologi prøves ut for å forbedre forv altningen av disse. Studiet vil danne et grunnlag for lokale workshops om adaptiv forvaltning av verneområder og en workshop om økosystemtjenesteforskning på nasjonal skala.

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MILJØFORSK-Miljøforskning for en grønn samfunnsomstilling