Institute of Geography, Ruhr University Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44805, Bochum, Germany.
Department of Geography, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 16, 12489, Berlin, Germany.
Ambio. 2023 Jun;52(6):1022-1039. doi: 10.1007/s13280-023-01841-4. Epub 2023 Mar 18.
The mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services (MAES) is key to inform sustainable policy and decision-making at national and sub-national levels. Responding to the paucity of research in sub-Saharan Africa, we conduct a pilot study for Eritrea that aims to map and assess the temporal dynamics of key ecosystems and their services. We reviewed policy and legal documents, analyzed land cover changes and estimated the potential for ecosystem services supply through an expert-based matrix approach. Our results showed that from 2015 to 2019, the potential supply of the ecosystem services analyzed (e.g., crop provisioning, water supply and recreation) increased, with the exception of wood supply. Overall, our study presents policy-relevant insights as to where to conserve, develop, or restore ecosystem services supply in Eritrea. Our approach is transferable to similar data scarce contexts and can thereby support policies toward more sustainable land development for people and nature.
生态系统及其服务的制图和评估（MAES）是为国家和次国家各级提供可持续政策和决策信息的关键。针对撒哈拉以南非洲研究不足的问题，我们对厄立特里亚进行了一项试点研究，旨在绘制和评估关键生态系统及其服务的时间动态。我们审查了政策和法律文件，分析了土地覆盖变化，并通过基于专家的矩阵方法估计了生态系统服务供应的潜力。我们的研究结果表明，从 2015 年到 2019 年，除了木材供应外，所分析的生态系统服务（例如，作物供应、供水和娱乐）的潜在供应增加了。总的来说，我们的研究提供了有关在厄立特里亚何处保护、开发或恢复生态系统服务供应的相关政策见解。我们的方法可以推广到类似数据匮乏的情况下，从而支持更可持续的土地开发政策，造福人类和自然。
