부산대학교 도서관

Tropical wetlands are receiving increasing interest owing to large emissions from wetland degradation. This thesis investigates the supply and demand for wetland ecosystem services to guide investments in sustainable wetland management for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and alleviating poverty. Research investigates the socio-ecological production of wetland ecosystem services and benefits in Kabale district in southwest Uganda. Analyses examined the relationship between ecosystem service values, stakeholders, and management, the distribution of ecosystem services within communities, and the role of land management and climate on multiple ecosystem functions and services. A mixed methodology approach was implemented, including semi-structured interviews, household surveying, field surveying and biophysical modelling across ecological and economic disciplines. Interviews suggest that low social capital hinders the implementation of sustainable wetland management by limiting stakeholder interactions, increasing the networks' vulnerability to poor performance and corruption, and inhibiting engagement with important actors that influence the rural landscape of Sub-Sahara Africa, notably the agricultural and private sectors. Mapping the distribution of wetland beneficiaries shows that wealth and geography matter, creating complex patterns of ecosystem service dependencies. The contribution of wetlands to poverty alleviation is unclear due to very low incomes from wetland goods. Therefore, current wetland restoration practices are unlikely to alleviate poverty. Wetland ecosystem service assessments could be greatly improved by capturing interactions between multiple functions and interdisciplinary modelling efforts. Current modelling approaches fail to capture important socio-ecological dynamics for ecosystem service assessments that provide insight for wetland management and human wellbeing. Poor data availability presents further challenges; fieldwork shows the highly heterogeneous distribution and the extensive influence of anthropogenic activities on wetland ecosystem services. Preliminarily modelling is implemented to improve assessments of wetland ecosystem services. The thesis provides a basis to further explore the implications of wetland investments for poverty alleviation and climate change action.