Matching compensation sites with potential ecological compensation (EC) actions

Abstract

Ecological compensation (EC) is the practice of transforming an area to recover ecological functions and characteristics that have been impaired due to the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. mining, logging) and changes in land-use (e.g. urbanization, transformation of the land into farmland). EC is usually done at large scales and seldom times at smaller scales that could involve citizen actions.

Our newly launched project "Science embracing art to launch small scale ecological compensation actions" aims to reach out to citizens in Finland to raise their awareness of nature conservation, make them familiar with the EC concept and increase their willingness to get involved in EC actions. The EC concept will be explored from the perspective of a wide range of citizens, including different focus groups that will be invited to participate in a set of workshops. The project will have a pseudonym name in Finnish to evoke the EC concept, so that it is easily understood and memorable by citizens.

As part of this project, we will develop an EC platform where citizens can suggest sites for EC activities. We will assess key characteristics (e.g. soil type, ecosystem type, state of degradation) in the suggested sites for EC actions. Afterwards, we will classify the sites according to shared characteristics. We will then suggest a set of potential EC actions ranging from simple/short-term to complex/long-term actions for the different sites. Thus, we aim to produce an efficient platform where sites are matched with potential EC actions. The effectiveness of the EC actions conducted on compensated sites will be assessed over time by using ecological indicators such as species richness and community structure. The above mentioned conservation ecology elements of the project, will be encompassed with the study of legal framework, social science and artistic elements.

Depending on the degree of equivalency with the original ecosystem, EC actions can be classified as either in-kind or out-of-kind (Cuperus et al. 1999; Villarroya et al. 2014). Our project will make use of both types, and will also make use of private gardens as one of the focal points where EC actions can be implemented to compensate for the environmental impact of regular citizens. The project aims to raise awareness of EC and motivate citizens to volunteer for EC actions in various sites.

A flow chart of the key characteristics to be used in building the EC platform will be presented in the congress. In addition, our poster will also show the key social and ecological aspects to be studied in the garden study.

Cuperus R., Canters K.J., Udo de Haes H.A., Friedman D.S. 1999. Guidelines for ecological compensation associated with highways. Biological Conservation 90: 41-51.

Villarroya A., Persson J., Puig J. 2014. Ecological compensation: From general guidance and expertise to specific proposals for road developments. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 45: 54-62.