Seminar on Coupled Natural and Human Systems: Payments for Ecosystem Services

Wednesdays, 11am-12 MDT, 12-1pm CDT, 1-2pm EST

Primary Lead: Xoco Shinbrot, PhD Student, Colorado State University (CSU) Email: x.shinbrot@gmail.com

Co-leads: Drs. Kelly Jones (CSU) and Alex Mayer (Michigan Tech)

Course Description: Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are voluntary transactions between ecosystem service users and providers, conditional on agreed rules of natural resources management, that lead to generation of ecosystem services. PES programs inherently operate at the interface of coupled human and natural systems (CHANS), or social-ecological systems (SES). PES programs are intended to enhance ecosystem services provided by biophysical systems by eliciting certain desirable behaviors from social systems through incentives that target economic systems. This seminar will explore how conceptualizing PES as CHANS/SES can elucidate important linkages between the three systems, facilitate assessment and evaluation of PES programs, identify where PES programs may lead to unintended consequences, and, ultimately, lead to optimal applications of PES. Students will critically analyze use of CHANS/SES approaches in the natural resources management literature and develop their own conceptual framework and assessment of a PES program using a CHANS/SES framework.

Learning objectives

After completing the course, students will have:

• A foundation on the theory and existing frameworks for CHANS/SES research
• Experience applying CHANS/SES to natural resources management topics
• An understanding of theory and practice of PES programs
• An understanding and appreciation of the complex dynamics of PES program within CHANS/SES and the implications for management and policy