Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Recent Instances for Debate

After 1992 many conservation biologists thought that the use of economic instruments would be more effective to halt biodiversity loss than policies based on setting apart some natural spaces outside the market. At the same time there was a new elaboration of the concept of ecosystem services and, since 1997, there have been attempts at costing in money terms the loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity, including the high profile TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) project (2008-2011). Our discussion rests on instances showing the analytical implications of three main socio-economic meanings of biodiversity loss: 1) the loss of natural capital; 2) the loss of ecosystem functions; and 3) the loss of cultural values and human rights to livelihood. We review several approaches to include economic considerations in biodiversity conservation. We show cases where monetary valuation is relevant and other cases where it is controversial and even counterproductive, as it undermines the objectives of conservation.

Between science and activism: learning and teaching ecological economics with environmental justice organisations

Activists are motivated by interests and values, making use only of the evidence that supports their arguments. They are not dispassionate as scientists are supposed to be. There is therefore something antithetical between science and activism. Nevertheless, environmental justice organisations (EJOs) have accumulated stocks of activist knowledge of great value to the field of ecological economics, which sometimes becomes available to academics and influences public policies. Vice versa, some concepts and methods from ecological economics are useful in practice to EJOs. In this paper, we use the knowledge built through the European Commission-funded projects Civil Society Engagement with Ecological Economics and Environmental Justice Organisations, Liabilities and Trade to understand the relations between academic theories such as ecological economics and political ecology and activist practice in EJOs. Some work by researchers in ecological economics and political ecology can be understood as activism-led science, while EJOs sometimes carry out science-led activism. A dialectic and dynamic relation drives the interactions between academics and practitioners focused on ecological distribution conflicts. An interactive process exists between knowledge production and knowledge use, in which one furthers the other thanks to the relations built over time between scholars and practitioners.

An ecosystem service approach to understand conflicts on river flows: local views on the Ter River (Catalonia)

Abstract Claims for a global agenda addressing the need to protect environmental flows are increasing. In the context of frequent conflicts related to unsustainable exploitation of rivers, instream flow policies may result in very different outcomes and involve different beneficiaries. We propose and test an innovative local knowledge-based methodology that uses the ecosystem services approach to disentangle the links within the river-society system. In particular, network analysis is employed to identify potential tradeoffs caused by the river flow management. Our empirical evidence relies on a thorough scrutiny of key stakeholders’ positions in the Ter River basin (Catalonia, Spain). As in other Northern Mediterranean contexts, multiple weirs interrupt the water flow in the upper course, diverting water for hydropower. Meanwhile, in the middle course, the bulk of water flow is transferred to the metropolitan Barcelona contributing to water scarcity in the Lower Ter, where farmers and other users claim against imposed restrictions on access to water flows. Our results point out that (1) in contexts such as the analyzed one, the ‘ecosystem services’ (ES) notion enhances communication among stakeholders; (2) ground-up exercises are essential for identifying river benefits at local scale and characterizing the related ES; and (3) network analysis helps to make explicit tradeoffs between river uses, in which recognition is crucial to understand how conflicts on river flows emerge and how can be managed, (4) management of instream flows should be informed by the complex interaction, herein outlined, between hydrological alterations, components of river ecosystems and the benefits they provide.

Transdisciplinary research in support of land and water management in China and Southeast Asia: evaluation of four research projects

Transdisciplinary research (TDR) aims at identifying implementable solutions to difficult sustainability problems and at fostering social learning. It requires a well-managed collaboration among multidisciplinary scientists and multisectoral stakeholders. Performing TDR is challenging, particularly for foreign researchers working in countries with different institutional and socio-cultural conditions. There is a need to synthesize and share experience among researchers as well as practitioners regarding how TDR can be conducted under specific contexts. In this paper, we aim to evaluate and synthesize our unique experience in conducting TDR projects in Asia. We applied guiding principles of TDR to conduct a formative evaluation of four consortium projects on sustainable land and water management in China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In all projects, local political conditions restricted the set of stakeholders that could be involved in the research processes. The set of involved stakeholders was also affected by the fact that stakeholders in most cases only participate if they belong to the personal network of the project leaders. Language barriers hampered effective communication between foreign researchers and stakeholders in all projects and thus knowledge integration. The TDR approach and its specific methods were adapted to respond to the specific cultural, social, and political conditions in the research areas, also with the aim to promote trust and interest of the stakeholders throughout the project. Additionally, various measures were implemented to promote collaboration among disciplinary scientists. Based on lessons learned, we provide specific recommendations for the design and implementation of TDR projects in particular in Asia.

Network effects in environmental justice struggles: An investigation of conflicts between mining companies and civil society organizations from a network perspective

This paper examines conflicts that occur between mining companies and civil society organizations (CSOs) around the world and offers an innovative analysis of mining conflicts from a social network perspective. The analysis showed that, as the number of CSOs involved in a conflict increased, its outcome was more likely to be perceived as a success in terms of environmental justice (EJ); if a CSO was connected to other central CSOs, the average perception of EJ success was likely to increase; and as network distance between two conflicts increased (or decreased), they were more likely to lead to different (or similar) EJ outcomes. Such network effects in mining conflicts have policy implications for EJ movements. It would be a strategic move on the part of successful CSOs to become involved in other major conflicts and disseminate information about how they achieved greater EJ success.

Rice ecosystem services in South-east Asia

Josef Settele · Kong Luen Heong · Ingolf Kühn · Stefan Klotz · Joachim H. Spangenberg · Gertrudo Arida · Alexis Beaurepaire · Silke Beck · Erwin Bergmeier · Benjamin Burkhard · Roland Brandl · Jesus Victor Bustamante · Adam Butler · Jimmy Cabbigat · Xuan Canh Le · Josie Lynn A. Catindig · Van Chien Ho · Quoc Cuong Le · Kinh Bac Dang · Monina Escalada · Christophe Dominik · Markus Franzén · Oliver Fried · Christoph Görg · Volker Grescho · Sabine Grossmann · Geoff M. Gurr · Buyung A. R. Hadi · Huu Hai Le · Alexander Harpke · Annika L. Hass · Norbert Hirneisen · Finbarr G. Horgan · Stefan Hotes · Yuzuru Isoda · Reinhold Jahn · Helen Kettle · Anika Klotzbücher · Thimo Klotzbücher · Fanny Langerwisch · Wai‐Hong Loke · Yu‐Pin Lin · Zhongxian Lu · Keng‐Yeang Lum · Damasa B. Magcale‐Macandog · Glenn Marion · Leonardo Marquez · Felix Müller · Hung Manh Nguyen · Quynh Anh Nguyen · Van Sinh Nguyen · Jürgen Ott · Lyubomir Penev · Hong Thai Pham · Nico Radermacher · Beatriz Rodriguez‐Labajos · Christina Sann · Cornelia Sattler · Martin Schädler · Stefan Scheu · Anja Schmidt · Julian Schrader · Oliver Schweiger · Ralf Seppelt · Kukiat Soitong · Pavel Stoev · Susanne Stoll‐Kleemann · Vera Tekken · Kirsten Thonicke · Bianca Tilliger · Kai Tobias · Y. Andi Trisyono · Thanh Truong Dao · Teja Tscharntke · Quang Tuan Le · Manfred Türke · Tomáš Václavík · Doris Vetterlein · Sylvia ’Bong’ Villareal · Kim Chi Vu · Quynh Vu · Wolfgang W. Weisser · Catrin Westphal · Zengrong Zhu · Martin Wiemers

Understanding the relationship between volunteers’ motivations and learning outcomes of Citizen Science in rice ecosystems in the Northern Philippines

This study relies on the Flying Beauties Citizen Science project conducted in the Philippines to assess personal motivations and learning outcomes of volunteers who were involved in documenting butterflies and dragonflies in rice ecosystems. While evaluation of motivations of volunteers in Citizen Science is not new, at least in affluent western countries, little is done in investigating volunteers’ motivations and learning outcomes of Citizen Science projects in low-income countries. Using surveys, we collected data from volunteers that were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. We adopted a two stages evaluation format—before and after volunteers finished the project exercise. We compared pre-motivations to motivations attained and changes in level of knowledge before and after the project ended. We use Spearman’s Rho, Kendall’s Tau—nonparametric tests to draw correlations between variables. The results showed that key determinants that drove people to volunteer in the project were (a) learning about species and (b) being part of scientific research and the principal learning outcome was improved awareness about ecosystem functions of the species.

A First Biopollution Index Approach and Its Relationship on Biological Quality in Catalan Rivers

The purpose of this chapter is to present results of the applicability of the most well-known biopollution (BP) and biocontamination (BC) indices available in the literature by using information from the standard monitoring programme for fish carried out in Catalonia. As a part of this exercise, the pertinence of the results is evaluated by answering two questions: (1) are the BP&BC indices actually indicators for quality status, i.e. do their results respond to indicators of pressures on water bodies? And if so, (2) are the indices redundant with the existing indices of quality status for a given biological element? This discussion will be done in relation to the use of information on alien species (AS) for the purpose of future management and the ensuing role of uncertainty in the ecological assessment on water bodies according to the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).