Por:
Mayra Andrea Zamora Moreno
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Fecha:
2014
Coastal areas are among the most productive ecosystems, and are also heavily populated. They offer different benefits to society, known as Ecosystem Services (ESS). However, an unsustainable ecosystem management reduces their capacity to provide such benefits. The ESS flow decrease has repercussions in human well being and, in order to prevent it, is necessary to identify key areas generating key benefits. This ESS evaluation can be done using monetary and non-monetary methodologies.
This evaluation was done with a non- monetary evaluation, considering that intangible benefits like cultural ESS are difficult to quantify only in terms of money. While non-monetary evaluations demonstrate the multi- dimensional nature of human well-being, being monetary value just one important aspect amongst others, e.g. symbolic, cultural, ecological and spiritual (Kelemen et al. 2014).
In this thesis, coastal ecosystem types were identified to evaluate their capacity to generate a variety of ESS in the Buenos Aires province, Argentina. To make the ESS assessment, a group of experts was selected and interviewed, using an ESS matrix including different coastal types and ESS of interest, in order to estimate ESS flow. They valuated the ESS in each coastal type using a scale form 0 to 5, additionally, they were asked which ESS they believe are of priority for coastal communities and their conservation. In order to protect other important ESS supply and enhance the human well-being, sustainable tourism and recreation practices, as well as integrated management plans should be implemented in the region.