INDICATORS OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN AN ATLANTIC FOREST, PERNAMBUCO – BRAZIL

The use of Ecosystem Services (ES) indicators may help when designing, implementing and monitoring public environmental policies. In addition, using ES assessment and communication may support decision-making processes and... [ view full abstract ]

The use of Ecosystem Services (ES) indicators may help when designing, implementing and monitoring public environmental policies. In addition, using ES assessment and communication may support decision-making processes and improve the involvement of stakeholders. Moreover, the process of selecting and identifying these indicators may be used as a management support tool for natural protected areas. Quantifying ecosystem services and developing related indicators need a great deal of data and information, which are sometimes neither easily accessible nor available. Similarly, there are many obstacles which may prevent the analysis and use of environmental services data. This can include a lack of ecological and social knowledge on how these services are shaped and used and how they vary in time and space. The main aim of this research study is to identify environmental service indicators for Atlantic forests, using a participatory approach with different types of stakeholders. A case study is made of an Atlantic Forest area in the Northeast of Brazil, under the jurisdiction of the Brazilian Army. To accomplish this aim, a questionnaire survey was sent to a group of stakeholders in order to evaluate an initial set of proposed 44 indicators for several forest ES. Supported by the participatory process, 26 ES indicators for Atlantic forests were obtained, for which stakeholders’s perceptions and views were weighted. Some of the indicators identified were specifically tailored for the military forest context, thus showing an approach that balanced common and site-specific aspects of ES. Having a good understanding of ecosystem indicators can support managers in decision-making processes on environmental issues.