Making the connections. Using the ecosystem services concept to guide the sustainable management of chalk streams.

Abstract

Chalk streams are some of the most iconic and globally important freshwater ecosystems. Over the past few decades there has been a marked decline in the condition of chalk streams resulting from anthropogenic pressures. There is an urgent need to improve the ecological health of chalk streams, but this requires developing a holistic understanding of the river landscapes and establishing solutions that work for both nature and people. This thesis uses the ecosystem services concept as a lens to understand the relationships between humans and two archetypal chalk streams (the River Test and River Itchen, Hampshire, UK) with the aim of demonstrating the value of chalk streams to society, examining the governance of chalk streams, and ultimately expanding the evidence base underpinning decision making. Participatory methods were used in this thesis to allow diverse stakeholder perspectives to be elicited and evaluated.

Using a participatory process the ecosystem services provided by the case study catchments, and the specific pressures affecting them, were identified. Cultural values, particularly those associated with recreational activities, are identified as being of importance to stakeholders. Population growth, societal values towards nature, climate change and pollution are the main threats to the current and future provision of these services. A public participation geographical information systems (PPGIS) survey was utilised to identify bundles and hotspots of ecosystem services within the case study catchments, and to assess how social-ecological characteristics influence the distribution of these values. Both land cover and physical accessibility are key determinants of the areas found to be hotspots for cultural services. Physical connections between society and the rivers are therefore important, and the findings suggest that certain stakeholder groups act as gatekeepers to ecosystem service provision through their ability to limit or facilitate access. Actor roles and their influence were explored further to the actor network for the governance of ecosystem services using participatory social network analysis. Although there is a well-connected network of actors from the state, private sector, and civil society, decision-making and governance are shown to be controlled by central state actors, some of whom have limited connection to local stakeholders. Furthermore, a lack of trust between actors undermines collaboration and co-ordination in the network.

This thesis articulates a spatially explicit understanding of the value that two important chalk streams provide to society and reveals the social relationships between actors that mediate both the supply and quality of ecosystem services. Improving access to chalk streams to enhance the provision of cultural services and connection to chalk streams could improve support for chalk stream conservation, while inclusion of spatially explicit socio-cultural values in local planning, and providing local civil society actors with more power, are key recommendations for improving decision making that can ultimately lead to the sustainable management of chalk streams.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Kelvin Peh: orcid.org/0000-0002-2921-1341

ORCID for Robert Holland: orcid.org/0000-0002-3038-9227

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