A socio-ecological approach for identifying and contextualising spatial ecosystem-based adaptation priorities at the sub-national level

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dc.contributor.authorBourne, Amandaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHolness, Stephenen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHolden, Petraen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorScorgie, Sarshenen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorDonatti, Camila Ien_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMidgley, Guyen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-10-31T07:39:19Z
dc.date.available2016-10-31T07:39:19Z
dc.date.issued2016en_ZA
dc.description.abstractClimate change adds an additional layer of complexity to existing sustainable development and biodiversity conservation challenges. The impacts of global climate change are felt locally, and thus local governance structures will increasingly be responsible for preparedness and local responses. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) options are gaining prominence as relevant climate change solutions. Local government officials seldom have an appropriate understanding of the role of ecosystem functioning in sustainable development goals, or access to relevant climate information. Thus the use of ecosystems in helping people adapt to climate change is limited partially by the lack of information on where ecosystems have the highest potential to do so. To begin overcoming this barrier, Conservation South Africa in partnership with local government developed a socio-ecological approach for identifying spatial EbA priorities at the sub-national level. Using GIS-based multi-criteria analysis and vegetation distribution models, the authors have spatially integrated relevant ecological and social information at a scale appropriate to inform local level political, administrative, and operational decision makers. This is the first systematic approach of which we are aware that highlights spatial priority areas for EbA implementation. Nodes of socio-ecological vulnerability are identified, and the inclusion of areas that provide ecosystem services and ecological resilience to future climate change is innovative. The purpose of this paper is to present and demonstrate a methodology for combining complex information into user-friendly spatial products for local level decision making on EbA. The authors focus on illustrating the kinds of products that can be generated from combining information in the suggested ways, and do not discuss the nuance of climate models nor present specific technical details of the model outputs here. Two representative case studies from rural South Africa demonstrate the replicability of this approach in rural and peri-urban areas of other developing and least developed countries around the world.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationBourne, A., Holness, S., Holden, P., Scorgie, S., Donatti, C. I., & Midgley, G. (2016). A socio-ecological approach for identifying and contextualising spatial ecosystem-based adaptation priorities at the sub-national level. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22366en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBourne, Amanda, Stephen Holness, Petra Holden, Sarshen Scorgie, Camila I Donatti, and Guy Midgley "A socio-ecological approach for identifying and contextualising spatial ecosystem-based adaptation priorities at the sub-national level." <i>PLoS One</i> (2016) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22366en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBourne, A., Holness, S., Holden, P., Scorgie, S., Donatti, C. I., & Midgley, G. (2016). A socio-ecological approach for identifying and contextualising spatial ecosystem-based adaptation priorities at the sub-national level. PloS one, 11(5), e0155235. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155235en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Bourne, Amanda AU - Holness, Stephen AU - Holden, Petra AU - Scorgie, Sarshen AU - Donatti, Camila I AU - Midgley, Guy AB - Climate change adds an additional layer of complexity to existing sustainable development and biodiversity conservation challenges. The impacts of global climate change are felt locally, and thus local governance structures will increasingly be responsible for preparedness and local responses. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) options are gaining prominence as relevant climate change solutions. Local government officials seldom have an appropriate understanding of the role of ecosystem functioning in sustainable development goals, or access to relevant climate information. Thus the use of ecosystems in helping people adapt to climate change is limited partially by the lack of information on where ecosystems have the highest potential to do so. To begin overcoming this barrier, Conservation South Africa in partnership with local government developed a socio-ecological approach for identifying spatial EbA priorities at the sub-national level. Using GIS-based multi-criteria analysis and vegetation distribution models, the authors have spatially integrated relevant ecological and social information at a scale appropriate to inform local level political, administrative, and operational decision makers. This is the first systematic approach of which we are aware that highlights spatial priority areas for EbA implementation. Nodes of socio-ecological vulnerability are identified, and the inclusion of areas that provide ecosystem services and ecological resilience to future climate change is innovative. The purpose of this paper is to present and demonstrate a methodology for combining complex information into user-friendly spatial products for local level decision making on EbA. The authors focus on illustrating the kinds of products that can be generated from combining information in the suggested ways, and do not discuss the nuance of climate models nor present specific technical details of the model outputs here. Two representative case studies from rural South Africa demonstrate the replicability of this approach in rural and peri-urban areas of other developing and least developed countries around the world. DA - 2016 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0155235 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2016 T1 - A socio-ecological approach for identifying and contextualising spatial ecosystem-based adaptation priorities at the sub-national level TI - A socio-ecological approach for identifying and contextualising spatial ecosystem-based adaptation priorities at the sub-national level UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22366 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155235en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/22366
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBourne A, Holness S, Holden P, Scorgie S, Donatti CI, Midgley G. A socio-ecological approach for identifying and contextualising spatial ecosystem-based adaptation priorities at the sub-national level. PLoS One. 2016; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22366.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentPlant Conservation Unit (PCU)en_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2016 Bourne et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherClimate changeen_ZA
dc.subject.otherEcosystemsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBiodiversityen_ZA
dc.subject.otherSouth Africaen_ZA
dc.subject.otherEcosystem functioningen_ZA
dc.subject.otherConservation scienceen_ZA
dc.subject.otherDecision makingen_ZA
dc.subject.otherLocal governmenten_ZA
dc.titleA socio-ecological approach for identifying and contextualising spatial ecosystem-based adaptation priorities at the sub-national levelen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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