Capacity of the Ecuadorian Amazonian Rainforest to Provide Ecosystem Services: An Evaluation of Plant Uses, Capacity to Provide Products and Services and Perception on the …

Abstract:

Ecosystems ensure a flow of multiple benefits or services (ES) that are useful for mankind, which depends on their state and on a given social context. Assessment by steps such as the identification and evaluation of ES through stakeholders’ perception allows assessing different options relating to flow and demand, so the valuation of ES is considered to be an important aspect of planning and management. The evaluation of ecosystem services is usually shaped around the following dimensions or perspectives: ecological, economic and social. Therefore, it allows to identify the main services and the components of ecosystems-or land uses-that provide them (ecological dimension), but it also analyzes the perception of the users or stakeholders (social dimension) and translates (transforms) these benefits in economic terms through application of different methods of economic valuation. The ecosystems and services they provide should be addressed based on the perceptions, necessities and interest of the users or beneficiaries, who perceive the existence and importance of the services differently as an effect of variations of their socio-economic context, familiarity with the ecosystem, belief and religion. Consequently, to ensure a continuous flow of ES, it is necessary to complement land use management systems with information gained through assessment of relevant ES (tangible and non-tangible) by the stakeholders. In this regard, the willingness to pay (WTP) is a reference value that users assign to environmental attributes and/or their improvements such as the conservation or restoration activities; within the environmental improvements …

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