Research
Citizen science and policy support systems for ecosystem services valuation and decision-making
Mountains possess a rich array of natural capital and ecosystem services such as water, land, biodiversity & natural habitats and landscape beauty, which directly underpin local livelihoods and well-being. The ecosystem services derived from water & land resources especially play fundamental role in local livelihood activities. Similarly, natural beauty, cultural heritage and aesthetic values also provide diverse opportunities for better local livelihoods. However, these natural capital and ecosystem services are yet to be fully realized into local development planning processes. There is still a huge gap of data and knowledge about their state, how the ecosystem services are produced and delivered to consumers as well as current pressure and future threats upon critical ecosystem services. A marginal change in hydrological attributes could have a significant impact on agricultural productivity. The region is also highly vulnerable to natural disasters, climate change and demographic changes. In this situation, participatory monitoring of ecosystem functionalities is crucial to generate locally relevant data and knowledge for the better understanding of ecosystem services. Then, the application of these data into appropriate web-based policy support systems could improve the local decision making, and thus leading to poverty alleviation and promoting sustainable development in the region.
Publications
Pandeya, B. and Buytaert, W. (2017) Citizen science and web-based modelling tools for managing freshwater, Grantham Institute Briefing Note No 4, (http://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/grantham-institute/public/publications/briefing-papers/Citizen-science-and-web-based-modelling-tools-for-managing-freshwater-Grantham-BN-4.pdf)
Pandeya, B., Buytaert, W., Zulkafli, Z., Karpouzoglou, Mao, F. and Hannah, D. (2016) ‘A comparative analysis of ecosystem services valuation approaches for the local scale in data scarce regions’, Ecosystem Services, 22(B), 250-259 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041616304259).
Bhusal J.K., Chapagain P.S., Regmi S., Gurung P., Zulkafli Z., Karpouzoglo T., Pandeya B., Buytaert W., Clark J. (2016) Mountains under pressure: Evaluating ecosystem services and livelihoods in the Upper Himalayan Region of Nepal, International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences 42 (3): 217-226
Peh K.S.H., Thapa I., Basnyat M., Balmford A., Bhattarai G.P., Bradbury R.B., Brown C., Butchart S.M.H., Dhakal M., Gurung H., Hughes, F.M.R., Mulligan M., Pandeya B., Stattersfield A.J., Thomas D.H.L., Walpole M. & Merriman, J.C. (2016) ‘Synergies between biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision: Lessons on integrated ecosystem service valuation from a Himalayan protected area in Nepal’, Ecosystem Services, Ecosystem Services, 22(B), 359-369 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041616300882)
Mulligan, M., Keulertz, M., Pandeya, B., Kivela, M., Rodrigues, L.N. and Allan, T., (2015) Uncertainty is the Key Challenge for Agricultural Water Resources Management under Climate Change in the BRICS. Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources in Agriculture, p.154.
Buytaert W., Zulkafli Z., Grainger S., Acosta L., Bastiaensen J., Bhusal J., Chanie T., Clark, J., De Bièvre B., Dewulf A., Hannah, D.M., Hergarten C., Isaeva A., Karpouzoglou T., Pandeya B., Paudel D., Sharma K., Steenhuis T., Tilahun S., Van Hecken G. and Zhumanova M. (2014) ‘Citizen science for hydrology and water resources: opportunities for knowledge generation and sustainable ecosystem service management’ Frontiers in Earth Science, section Hydrosphere, pp. 1-21 (http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feart.2014.00026/full)
Birch J.C., Thapa, I., Balmford A., Bradbury R.B., Brown C., Butchart S., Gurung, H., Hughes, F.M.R., Mulligan M., Pandeya B., Peh K.S.H., Stattersfield A.J., Walpole M, Thomas D.H.L. (2014) ‘What benefits do community forests provide, and to whom? A rapid assessment of ecosystem services from a Himalayan forest in Nepal’, Ecosystem Services, 8: 118-127 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041614000254)
Pandeya, B. and Mulligan, M. (2013) 'Modelling crop evapo-transpiration services and potential impacts on future water availability in the Indo-Gangetic basin', Agricultural Water Management, 129: 163-172 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037837741300200X)
Peh K.S.H., Balmford A., Basnyat M., Bhattarai G.P., Bradbury R.B., Brown C., Butchart S., Hughes, F.M.R., Stattersfield A.J., Thomas D.H.L., Walpole M., Bayliss, J., Gowing, D., Jones, J.P.G., Lewis, S., Mulligan M., Pandeya B., Stratford, C., Thompson, J.R., Turner, K., Vira, B., Willcock, S. and Birch J.C. (2013) ‘TESSA – A toolkit for rapid assessment of ecosystem services at sites of biodiversity conservation importance’, Ecosystem Services, 5: e51-e57 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041613000417)
Mulligan, M., Saenz Cruz, L.L., Pena-Arancibia, J., Pandey, B., Mahe, G. and Fisher, M. (2011) 'Water availability and use across the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) basin, Water International, 36:1, 17-41 (and also a book chapter in the BFP (Basin Focal Project) (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02508060.2011.543801)