Planificación participativa de la restauración ecológica en un paisaje semiárido altamente antropizado

Abstract

Ecological restoration has enormous potential to protect biodiversity, increase the supply of ecosystem services, and improve human well-being. To fully develop this potential and do so efficiently, it is necessary to design operating procedures that allow the identification of priority actions and areas for restoration. These procedures must also harmonize the multiple prioritization criteria and the multiple expectations about their results. In this study we have designed and applied a system for the identification of high priority areas for the restoration of a highly anthropized semi-arid landscape in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Our approach combines the priority criteria identified and weighted by a stakeholder platform, and the effectiveness of restoration, measured as a potential increase in the provision of services. Stakeholders identified and weighted 33 prioritization criteria and 24 ecosystem services. The high priority areas for restoration, according to the platform's criteria, substantially coincided with areas of high supply of services. On the contrary, these areas hardly overlapped with areas of high effectiveness. Our study shows that both approaches can contribute, in a complementary way, to improve the quality of decisions and facilitate consensus between the parties. Our methodology is flexible and can be replicated in other landscapes, even outside the scope of the study.