Knowledge Co-Creation for Enhanced Ecosystem Services Management on Islands

Against the backdrop of aggravating environmental challenges, effective ecosystem services (ES) management is crucial for biodiversity conservation, livelihood support, and economic growth. Including citizens, stakeholders and societies in research is gaining popularity as a suitable tool for both informed decision-making and enhanced community resilience. Our study explores the application of knowledge co-creation methodologies to improve ES management. The French Outermost Region of La Réunion, situated in the Indian Ocean, provides an opportune setting for addressing these challenges. Community members, stakeholders, and experts were engaged in a structured, yet flexible knowledge co-creation process to jointly define the potential for cultural ecosystem services (CES) including landscape aesthetics, recreation and eco-tourism.

The collaborative process empowered the community to identify and prioritize ES through initial interviews and focus groups. This informed a participatory GIS mapping exercise, facilitating community involvement in visually representing ecosystem services and their spatial relationships. Based on this work, additional methods were employed to provide the community with information. Expert elicitation validated the community-generated knowledge, incorporating insights from local and regional professionals. In addition, geotagged photos were analysed to assess actual use of cultural ES. This approach ensured a comprehensive understanding of ecosystem interactions, including ecosystem features, capacity of ecosystems to supply ecosystem services and informed options for sustainable development.

Our results contain qualitative and quantitative assessments of CES within the study area: multiple ES maps that show the distribution of ES on spatial scale, coinciding strongly with landscape features. A high appreciation of the coastline with its scenic cliffs and rocky beaches is visible. The inland provides large potential for recreational activities and tourism, including hiking, mountain biking, horse-riding, bird watching and botany. Geotagged photo analysis added the magnitude of visitors, showing popular trails and locations.

 Yet, the application of co-creation for research proves challenging. The joint definition of research focus and the fuzziness of the approach diverge from current modes of environmental (social) sciences. Further, stakeholder engagement requires time and dedication. We find that co-creation provides aspects of community learning and empowerment. This research contributes to the discourse on knowledge co-creation as a valuable tool for addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainable development. The insights provide a foundation for applying similar methodologies in diverse socio-ecological contexts, opening up new possibilities for community engagement in ecosystem services research.