Incorporating Sociocultural Phenomena into Ecosystem-Service Valuation: The Importance of Critical Pluralism

Authors

Carena J. Van Riper, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignFollow
Amanda J. Landon, University of Georgia
Sarah Kidd, Portland State UniversityFollow
Patrick Bitterman, University of IowaFollow
Lee A. Fitzgerald, Texas A&M UniversityFollow
Elise F. Granek, Portland State University
Sonia Ibarra, University of Alaska, FairbanksFollow
David M. Iwaniec, Arizona State UniversityFollow
Christopher M. Raymond, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesFollow
David Toledo, US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS)Follow

Date of this Version

2017

Citation

BioScience 67: 233–244

doi:10.1093/biosci/biw170

Comments

The Author(s) 2017.

Abstract

Ecosystem-services scholarship has largely focused on monetary valuation and the material contributions of ecosystems to human well-being. Increasingly, research is calling for a deeper understanding of how less tangible, nonmaterial values shape management and stakeholder decisions. We propose a framework that characterizes a suite of sociocultural phenomena rooted in key social science disciplines that are currently underrepresented in the ecosystem-services literature. The results from three example studies are presented to demonstrate how the tenets of this conceptual model can be applied in practice. We consider the findings from these studies in light of three priorities for future research: (1) complexities in individual and social functioning, (2) the salience and specificity of the perceived benefits of nature, and (3) distinctions among value concepts. We also pose a series of questions to stimulate reflection on how ecosystem-services research can adopt more pluralistic viewpoints that accommodate different forms of knowledge and its acquisition.