Enhancing Ecosystem Services Management in Protected Areas Through Participatory System Dynamics Modelling

Abstract

Ecosystem services (ES) depend on coupled ecological and socioeconomic processes. We propose participatory modelling as a tool for sharing and co-creating knowledge about processes supporting (or eroding) local ES. The proposal consists of an open library of introductory ES dynamic models to be tailored for each case study. Such a library is illustrated by two ES examples and five models, published in an open-access web-platform. The results can contribute to the improvement of both analysis and deliberation, helping managers to design better policies and stakeholders to better formulate expectations.

Keywords

• Ecosystem services
• Social-ecological systems
• System dynamics
• Participatory modelling;
• Stakeholder engagement