A people-centered approach to counter ecosystem degradation and support restoration

Ecosystems and their services are vital in our lives for their continuous contribution to biodiversity at the global level, and for supporting the livelihood and wellbeing of people at local and national levels. However, the ecosystems and the habitats at the landscape level are facing degradation and continuous challenges, particularly due to the numerous interventions of people in terms of resource harvesting along with natural stresses. In fragile ecosystems of global importance, such as mangrove forests, cyclones and saline intrusion in the coastal area, or fire events in the forest landscape represent major risks. To overcome these challenges and reverse the degradation, assessing landscape values and spatial interventions, identifying the degradation drivers, and prioritizing social-ecological approaches in landscape and ecosystems management are becoming more and more important. This PhD thesis comprises three scientific papers (conducted during three individual studies). The paper (I) and paper (II) empirically conducted in the Sundarbans landscape in Bangladesh, whereas the paper (III) was in the European landscapes. All these three papers are aligned well with the aspects of ecosystem degradation and investigate restoration toward sustainability globally. The output of this thesis may help focusing on various social-ecological dynamics which are the backbones of the conservation endeavour through landscape restoration. In paper (I), 10 landscape values available in the Sundarbans mangrove forest including both the material: fishing/crab, honey, medicinal plants, firewood and building materials, and social activities, and non-material: aesthetic, recreation, spiritual/religious, inspiration, cultural heritage, have been spatially elicited. The output of this study shows that the Sundarbans shapes people's sense of place through place identity (‘I feel proud of Bengal Tiger’), place attachment (‘Mentally I feel good here in Sundarbans’), and place dependence (‘It gives us lifesaving Oxygen’). Local people living in the buffer zone of the mangrove forest suffer from different threats while maintaining and performing their regular livelihood activities. Two major types of threats: environmental (extreme weather) and economic (lack of alternative jobs) are identified in this study. This study also reveals that forest-dependent groups have a higher tendency to spatially explore landscape values compared to non-forest-dependent ones. A total of 344 local respondents participated in the survey, where a considerable number of female respondents (36.3%) also provided their spatial perceptions. Paper (II) assesses the perceptions of local people on the current mangrove degradation and potential restoration response measures in the Sundarbans. In particular, this study identifies important drivers, pressures, states, impacts, and responses. These are assessed based on DPSIR. framework along with a Likert scale using the following range from not important at all to very important. Overharvesting of resources was most frequently perceived as a very important driver of degradation, followed by mangrove loss (very high pressure), single tree species (increasing-state), tourism (increasing), and strong patrolling (very important) restoration measures. Spatial distribution of driver, pressure, impact, and response were also elicited in this study which illustrates drivers are distributed randomly throughout the mangrove forest and in the buffer zone, where pressures are created in the entrance of the Pashur river, impacts are mostly perceived in around the Karamjal Eco-park and in the areas adjacent to the Bay of Bengal. The perception of driver, pressure, state, impact, and response have been significantly influenced by different livelihood groups. In paper (III), I conducted a policy review focusing on the newly enacted European Union’s Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR). Reviewing relevant pieces of literature regarding EU environmental regulations, policy documents, and contemporary scientific articles, I found that, Human-nature Connections (HNCs) have an important role in the conservation of land and sea areas across the European Union (EU) and in restoration. HNCs dimensions such as learning, cultural and regional heritage, care and stewardship, multifunctional productions, and collaboration can support the NRR implementation. It can help to reverse the ecosystem degradation and bring restoration success. Although this study focused on the EU landscapes, the findings may be useful and can be applied to solve degradation problems and achieve restoration success in other landscapes, such as the Sundarbans mangrove forest, as ecosystem degradation is a global issue. Overall, this thesis examines the role of a people-centered approach to counter ecosystem degradation and support restoration initiatives. It does so by referring to examples from social-ecological systems in the Sundarbans delta in Bangladesh, as well as policy-driven restoration approach on landscapes within the European Union.