Social Science Perspectives on Ecosystem Services

Reflections on Phase III with an Outlook to Phase IV

Matt Berman

Alaska EPSCoR All Hands MeetingFairbanks, AlaskaMay 24-25, 2012

What are Ecosystem Services?

Ecosystem Services are outcomes of natural environmental processes that affect people.

Ecosystem Services can be good (positive contribution to human well-being)

… or bad (negative contribution).

Types of Ecosystem Services

• Provisioning services: The products obtained from ecosystems, including, for example, genetic resources, food and fiber, and fresh water.

• Regulating services: The benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, including, for example, the regulation of climate, water, and some human diseases.

• Cultural services: The non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experience, including, e.g., knowledge systems, social relations, and aesthetic values.

• Supporting services: Ecosystem services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services. Some examples include biomass production, production of atmospheric oxygen, soil formation and retention, nutrient cycling, water cycling, and provisioning of habitat.

Ecosystem services are outcomes of a social-ecological system

So they make an ideal base for interdisciplinary research.

EPSCoR III Social Science Research Focus Areas

• Community use of ecosystem services

• Social networks and mobility

• Effective local institutions

When addressing sustainability and resilience of arctic human systems, the ecosystem services framework encompasses all three focus areas.

EPSCoR III Direct Support for Social Science

• Graduate students – 28 individuals• New faculty positions – 1 on each campus• Early career awards – 4 social scientists• Seed grants – 13 faculty members• Undergraduate research stipends – 13 social

science projects• Travel funds for research, networking, and outreach

Challenges Encountered

– External to Alaska EPSCoR

• Mobility of researchers• Entrenched institutional cultures

– High teaching loads– Insufficient local proposal and post-award support– High travel costs– Disciplinary resistance

• Academic opportunities for graduates to pursue arctic resilience research

• Limited research funds for arctic resilience research

Photo: Gary Kofinas

Challenges Encountered – Within Alaska EPSCoR Phase III

• Limited scope of EPSCoR III physical and biological sciences

Dominant role of marine, coastal, and freshwater ecosystem services in sustainability and resilience of Alaska communities

Mismatch between social science agendas and natural science agendas within EPSCoR challenged interdisciplinary collaboration.

Reflections on Phase III Social Science

• Social scientists collaborated with natural science colleagues outside Alaska EPSCoR, and built partnerships with resource managers and stakeholders to pursue social-ecological research agendas consistent with overall EPSCoR Phase III theme.

• Opportunities increasing for Ph.D. graduates to continue arctic SES research with resource agencies and stakeholder organizations, building these organizations’ research capacities.

• EPSCoR Phase IV regional case study approach increases opportunities for meaningful social-science-natural-science collaboration from what was achievable in Phase III.

• Full potential contribution of social scientists requires coastal/marine natural science research agenda within EPSCoR.