A balancing act: Biodiversity and human wellbeing considerations in the management of urban forest in a global biodiversity hotspot |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia;2. Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, C. Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;3. Movement and Nutrition for Health and Performance Research Group, Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium;1. Department of Geography and Geology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;2. Faculty of Law, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;3. Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland;4. School of Management, Regional Studies, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland;5. THL (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare), Finland;1. Monash Art Design and Architecture, Monash University, Sir John Monash Drive, Caulfield, Victoria 3161, Australia;2. School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia;1. Department of Geomatics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan;2. Department of Leisure Industry and Health Promotion, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei 112, Taiwan;3. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan;4. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, United States |
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| Abstract: | Environmental and urban forest managers in cities located in highly biodiverse regions may need to balance biodiversity conservation with the provision of ecosystem services to people. However, striking this balance is not easy and many competing factors influence the decision-making process. Set in the Perth Metropolitan Area, located in the global biodiversity hotspot of the Southwestern Australia Floristic Province, this study aimed to understand: (i) the extent to which a benefits-oriented approach is used by local governments to optimise biodiversity and human wellbeing urban forest outcomes, and (ii) what other factors influence the decision-making process shaping urban forest composition. Using a social-ecological framework, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 29 local government practitioners. We found that biodiversity conservation is actively considered in the planning and management of urban forest in natural areas and parks, but rarely in streetscapes. Maximising shade and cooling, and to a lesser extent enhancing sense of place, were the key benefits actively sought in streetscapes. Parks appeared to straddle the middle ground as areas with most flexibility to accommodate multiple biodiversity and human wellbeing benefits. Yet, benefits were only some of a multitude of social-ecological factors influencing the decision-making process shaping urban forest composition. In particular, streetscapes were affected by a large number of social and political factors (e.g., perceived risk and nuisance, ad-hoc decisions by elected members), many of them leading to suboptimal urban forest outcomes. For a benefits-oriented approach to prevail in complex and contested urban spaces it is important that the decision-making process is evidence-informed and capable of handling the challenges and conflicts that are likely to arise. Reactive decision-making results in a conservative, “safe” species palette that over time defines streetscapes by what they do not do (creating disservices) rather than what they do (delivering multiple biodiversity and wellbeing benefits), which ultimately is not a desired outcome in the context of an increasingly urbanized world. |
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| Keywords: | Ecosystem services Ecosystem disservices Social-ecological research Streetscape Trade-offs Urban greening |
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