Using the concept of ecosystem services to foster social learning for concerted management of social ecological system: preliminary results from a case study in Mont Lozère, France
Abstract
Mountain areas in Europe are facing important land use changes, mainly land abandonment combined with agriculture intensification. Mountains are known as multifunctional areas, and land use changes imply management trade-offs because some functions are improved to the detriment of others. It has been proved that social learning can contribute to tackling trade-offs in social-ecological systems by increasing the awareness of interdependencies, especially in multi-stakeholder dialogue processes. How can we foster social learning to inform choices about management of mountain farming systems? In this study, we make the hypothesis that using the concept of ecosystem service in multi-stakeholder dialogue processes can improve awareness of interdependencies, and thus social learning. To test this hypothesis, we study the case of Mont Lozère, Cévennes region, France, that is facing important land use change. We studied trade-offs among ecosystem services due to two agricultural practices: rock removal and ploughing of meadows. We designed a role-playing game to reveal hidden interdependencies between stakeholders, and to open dialogue about the governance of trade-offs between ecosystem services. The analysis of the game sessions is still in progress, but we identified three kinds of learning which seem to be fostered by the game: learning on the issue at stake, learning about others, and organizational learning.
Origin | Publisher files allowed on an open archive |
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