University of Twente Student Theses
Rethinking ecosystem services in the urban fringe, opportunities in human well-being - The case of Panju Island, Mumbai
Somadas, Anirudh Tharaventhedath (2020) Rethinking ecosystem services in the urban fringe, opportunities in human well-being - The case of Panju Island, Mumbai.
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| Abstract: | The well-being of us, human beings are dependent on the natural environment in multiple ways. The benefits we receive from the natural environment, the ecosystem services play a major role in sustaining the wellbeing. The dependency ranges from food and fibre as provisioning ecosystem services to enjoying a beautiful landscape as a cultural ecosystem service. However, does everyone receive these benefits in the same way? Does an assessment of cumulative availability of ecosystem services translate to wellbeing outcomes? No, there are multiple factors which mediate this outcome; they are the capabilities. Current mainstream ecosystem service research does not consider these mediating factors into account, and they are focussed on aggregated perspectives. This is because such explicit characterizations are complex at large scales studies. This study investigates such aspects at a micro-level through a bottom-up approach. It explores the availability, use, and changes related to ecosystem services at an individual level and highlights the importance of such ecosystem service information in local-level decision-making process and management. To understand, assess and develop a methodology to perform such micro-level studies which can support local-level decision making a small case study was conducted. A small estuarine island in the outskirts of Mumbai was chosen because of its pristine ecosystem and geographical characteristics. The stand-alone nature of the island and its people made the choice of spatial scale easy. In addition to that, it gave freedom to look it to multiple aspects due to less complexity. The micro-level investigation proved there are many opportunities available related to ecosystem services which will ultimately support the well-being of the residents of the island and will lead to a self-sustained future of the island. Keywords : Well-being, Ecosystem services, Capability, Non-monetary evaluation, Ecosystem service valuation. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | ITC: Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation |
| Programme: | Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation MSc (75014) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/90660 |
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