Mapping and assessing ecosystem services for sustainable policy and decision-making in Eritrea

authored by

Blal Adem Esmail, Jingxia Wang, Christian Albert, Chiara Cortinovis, Davide Geneletti

Abstract

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.

External Organisation(s)

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Type

Article

Journal

AMBIO

Volume

52

Pages

1022–1039

No. of pages

18

ISSN

0044-7447

Publication date

06.2023

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geography, Planning and Development, Ecology, Environmental Chemistry

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 15 - Life on Land

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-023-01841-4 (Access: Open)