The costs of increasing precision for ecosystem services valuation studies

Ecosystem services valuation (ESV) is increasingly used to provide the impetus to sustainably manage and restore ecosystems. When undertaking an ESV study, the available resources, desired scope, and necessary precision must be considered before determining the most appropriate approach. A broad range of techniques exist to support valuation studies, requiring a range of financial, time, and personnel resources. We surveyed authors that completed 56 responses around valuation studies regarding their total costs (including personnel costs) and the perceived precision of their results. Results show that the perceived precision of their results is statistically significant and increases with the cost of a study (adjusted R2 = 0.29, p = 0.018) and the number of person years required to complete it (R2 = 0.31, p = 0.22). Understanding the trade-offs between the costs of the study and the precision of the results allows policymakers and practitioners to make more informed decisions about which ESV methods are most cost effective for their needs. For example, basic value transfer techniques require minimal resources to implement but lack precision in the final estimates, while integrated modelling techniques provide dynamic, spatially explicit, and more precise estimates but are significantly more expensive and time consuming to implement. However, these techniques are not mutually exclusive. A quick, inexpensive initial analysis may support and motivate more elaborate and detailed studies

Maize farmers acquire early maturity seed across production environments

The primary factor used by CIMMYT to distinguish seed product market segments for maize in East Africa is the production environment (i.e., where the crop is grown). For each environment, it was assumed that farmers used the maturity level suited for that environment. The largest segment, according to estimated area under cultivation is wet lower midaltitude, intermediate maturity, followed by wet upper midaltitude, late maturity; highlands, late to very-late maturity; and dry midaltitude, early maturity. This brief explores to what extent the maturity level of seed products purchased by farmers matches the production environment where they are sold. We collected a panel of maize-seed sales data from 722 agrodealers in Kenya during two short-rains seasons and three long-rains seasons in 2020–2022. These agrodealers were located across all four maize production environments. Results showed strong sales of early-maturity products across the production environments, especially during the short-rains season. The results suggest an opportunity for increased breeding investments in short-maturity maize seed products

A Review of the Trade-Offs across Different Cocoa Production Systems in Ghana

Cocoa production is one of the leading causes of deforestation in West Africa. Agroforestry cocoa systems are increasingly promoted as a possible solution to deforestation. This study seeks to understand the trade-offs within agroforestry cocoa in full-sun and high-tech plantation cocoa systems in Ghana. It uses secondary data collected from an extensive literature search. The results established various trade-offs between cocoa yields and other provisioning services derived from the agroforestry services. While the cocoa yields in high-tech systems are almost thrice those in agroforestry systems, the total value of all the provisioning services is highest within the shaded systems. The economic value of per hectarage yield is estimated at USD 8140, USD 5320 and USD 5050 for shaded, full-sun and high-tech systems, respectively. Agroforestry systems also have higher ecosystem services compared to full-sun cocoa and high-tech cocoa systems. The high pesticide use in Ghana′s high-tech cocoa systems is also strongly linked to water and soil pollution, as well as adverse effects on human health. The study concludes that different cocoa production systems in Ghana yield different types of ecosystem provision and are associated with externalities such as the effect of pesticides on soils, water and human health, thus there is a need for the careful consideration of the system from policy and practice perspectives.</jats:p

COVID-19 Pandemic and Agroecosystem Resilience: Early Insights for Building Better Futures

The way the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted human lives and livelihoods constituted a stress test for agroecosystems in developing countries, as part of rural–urban systems and the global economy. We applied two conceptual schemes to dissect the evidence in peer-reviewed literature so far, as a basis for better understanding and enabling ‘building back better’. Reported positive impacts of the lockdown ‘anthropause’ on environmental conditions were likely only short-term, while progress towards sustainable development goals was more consistently set back especially for social aspects such as livelihood, employment, and income. The loss of interconnectedness, driving loss of assets, followed a ‘collapse’ cascade that included urban-to-rural migration due to loss of urban jobs, and illegal exploitation of forests and wildlife. Agricultural activities geared to international trade were generally disrupted, while more local markets flourished. Improved understanding of these pathways is needed for synergy between the emerging adaptive, mitigative, transformative, and reimaginative responses. Dominant efficiency-seeking strategies that increase fragility will have to be re-evaluated to be better prepared for further pandemics, that current Human–Nature interactions are likely to trigger.</jats:p

A Review of the Trade-Offs across Different Cocoa Production Systems in Ghana

Cocoa production is one of the leading causes of deforestation in West Africa. Agroforestry cocoa systems are increasingly promoted as a possible solution to deforestation. This study seeks to understand the trade-offs within agroforestry cocoa in full-sun and high-tech plantation cocoa systems in Ghana. It uses secondary data collected from an extensive literature search. The results established various trade-offs between cocoa yields and other provisioning services derived from the agroforestry services. While the cocoa yields in high-tech systems are almost thrice those in agroforestry systems, the total value of all the provisioning services is highest within the shaded systems. The economic value of per hectarage yield is estimated at USD 8140, USD 5320 and USD 5050 for shaded, full-sun and high-tech systems, respectively. Agroforestry systems also have higher ecosystem services compared to full-sun cocoa and high-tech cocoa systems. The high pesticide use in Ghana′s high-tech cocoa systems is also strongly linked to water and soil pollution, as well as adverse effects on human health. The study concludes that different cocoa production systems in Ghana yield different types of ecosystem provision and are associated with externalities such as the effect of pesticides on soils, water and human health, thus there is a need for the careful consideration of the system from policy and practice perspectives

Ecosystem-Based Approaches to Bioenergy and the Need for Regenerative Supply Options for Africa

Energy supply systems in the tropics and subtropics are marred with considerable negative impacts on ecosystems, for example, forest loss and habitat destruction. This document examines the role of ecosystems in household energy supply in Africa and explores pathways to ecosystem-based approaches to bioenergy generation by building on the regenerative economy concept. An ecosystem-based approach to bioenergy is an energy supply and utilization mechanism aimed at enhancing sustainable management of the sources of ecosystems with minimal trade-offs on/from other sectors directly linked to energy issues. Our analysis revealed that about 87% of energy supply to the population originated from agroecosystems and is challenged by the severe ecosystem degradation happening due to natural and anthropogenic factors. However, ecosystem restoration and effective use of agricultural residues could provide hope for making energy supply sustainable. Our analysis showed that restoring sparsely vegetated areas and degraded forest and savannahs, promotion of agroforestry in degraded agricultural lands, and use of agricultural residues could generate close to 71 billion gigajoules (GJ) of energy and provide sufficient energy for about 2.5 billion people if implemented in all potential areas identified. Ecosystem-based approaches to bioenergy along with a well-balanced involvement of sectors and industry actors coupled with knowledgeable management of the ecosystem could lead to beneficial outcomes for the society and environment.</jats:p

Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Through the Lens of Community Preferences

Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) practices are people-centered, nature-based solutions which aim to ensure that communities can cope with the adverse effects of climate change. These practices utilize biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of the wider adaptation strategies. In recent years, communities across the globe have embraced different EbA pathways as part of their adaptation option. This necessitated a comprehensive feasibility assessment to establish the most practical options in different context in The Gambia. This technical brief looks at EbA practices based on community preferences, gender choices, values and incentives, potential enablers and barriers, as well as policy and institutional frameworks based on findings from the EbA project in The Gambi

Design, methods, and reporting of impact studies of cardiovascular clinical prediction rules are suboptimal: a systematic review

Objectives To evaluate design, methods, and reporting of impact studies of cardiovascular clinical prediction rules (CPRs). Study Design and Setting We conducted a systematic review. Impact studies of cardiovascular CPRs were identified by forward citation and electronic database searches. We categorized the design of impact studies as appropriate for randomized and nonrandomized experiments, excluding uncontrolled before-after study. For impact studies with appropriate study design, we assessed the quality of methods and reporting. We compared the quality of methods and reporting between impact and matched control studies. Results We found 110 impact studies of cardiovascular CPRs. Of these, 65 (59.1%) used inappropriate designs. Of 45 impact studies with appropriate design, 31 (68.9%) had substantial risk of bias. Mean number of reporting domains that impact studies with appropriate study design adhered to was 10.2 of 21 domains (95% confidence interval, 9.3 and 11.1). The quality of methods and reporting was not clearly different between impact and matched control studies. Conclusion We found most impact studies either used inappropriate study design, had substantial risk of bias, or poorly complied with reporting guidelines. This appears to be a common feature of complex interventions. Users of CPRs should critically evaluate evidence showing the effectiveness of CPRs