Dryland Ecosystem Services and Human Wellbeing in a Changing Environment and Society

Abstract

AbstractThe framework of the Global Dryland Ecosystem Programme (Global-DEP) combines the ecosystem service (ES) research paradigm and system dynamics thinking. The core of the framework is the resilience of social-ecological systems (SESs) in drylands. This resilience depends on the interaction between ecological and social subsystems. Water shortages, desertification, and poverty are currently the biggest challenges to maintaining resilience and realizing sustainable development in dryland SESs. However, the internal links between ecosystem degradation/restoration and poverty/eradication remain unclear. ESs bridge ecological and social subsystems by forming a “bonding concept” that connects environmental goals and socioeconomic goals, as ESs can directly or indirectly promote almost all land-related sustainable development goals (SDGs). Clarifying the change of ESs and their contributions to human well-being (HWB) is the key to the entangled dryland challenges, promoting the resilience of SESs and finding solutions to coordinate ecological protection and socioeconomic development. This chapter summarizes the research progress in dryland ES and its relationship with HWB in a changing environment and society. It outlines research priorities, focusing on the concept of ES and how its methodologies contribute to dryland research and management for realizing SDGs. The priorities are as follows: ES quantification; the interactions among ESs; mechanisms of ES contributing to HWB; landscape optimization for ESs; and ecological compensation.