@article{MehtaEhrenwirthMissalletal.2021, author = {Mehta, Kedar and Ehrenwirth, Mathias and Missall, Siegmund and Degembaeva, Nadira and Akmatov, Kuban and Z{\"o}rner, Wilfried}, title = {Energy Profiling of a High-Altitude Kyrgyz Community: Challenges and Motivations to Preserve Floodplain Ecosystems Based on Household Survey}, series = {Sustainabilty}, volume = {13}, journal = {Sustainabilty}, number = {23}, publisher = {MDPI}, issn = {2071-1050}, doi = {10.3390/su132313086}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2468}, pages = {23}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The floodplain areas along the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan are essential as they hold the riparian (local) ecosystems because they provide firewood, pastureland, and areas for recreation and protection against erosion. Due to limited access to adequate, reliable, and sustainable energy services, the rural population usually derived their energy needs from multiple natural energy resources (i.e., firewood, charcoal, agricultural residues, animal dung, and wood branches). This is considered a common and predominant practice in rural Kyrgyzstan. This situation leads to a negative impact on local ecosystem services. In addition to that, the reliance on solid fuels contributes to indoor and outdoor air pollution, which is partially threatening the local ecosystem services. By contrast, the employment of renewable-based energy supply systems would substantially reduce the burden on the environment, which is mainly untapped. To integrate renewable energies, it is important to understand the energy behavior of floodplain communities. In that response, the presented article is the first attempt to capture the energy identity of the floodplain community of Kyrgyzstan based on a quantitative energy-based (on-site) household survey. Furthermore, the present research article synthesizes the driving factors that have a (direct or indirect) impact on the energy and local ecosystem services. In addition, the present article proposes a brief pathway for the sustainable energy transition. The article records the recommendation to integrate renewable energies to preserve the local ecosystems of Kyrgyzstan.}, language = {en} } @article{MissallWelpMehtaetal.2022, author = {Missall, Siegmund and Welp, Martin and Mehta, Kedar and Degembaeva, Nadira and Akmatov, Kuban and Z{\"o}rner, Wilfried}, title = {In Search for the Optimal Forest Use Behaviour: Riparian Forest Use in Central Asia, Using the Example of Ak-Tal, Naryn, Kyrgyzstan}, series = {Forests}, volume = {13}, journal = {Forests}, number = {8}, publisher = {MDPI}, issn = {1999-4907}, doi = {10.3390/f13081254}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3508}, pages = {19}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Riparian forests are rare and valuable ecosystems in Central Asia, both due to their significance for biodiversity and to their provision of vital ecosystem services to local residents. However, the actual forest use behaviour is under-researched, official figures may not be trustworthy, and the question of over-use is up in the air. This paper sets out to shed light on riparian forest use behaviour by local residents using the example of Ak-Tal Village upon the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan: Which economic use patterns do they practice (focusing on fuel wood and pasture)? Which other ecosystem services do they recognise? Is there forest over-exploitation? To answer these questions, this study builds on local knowledge, by applying the methods of focus group discussions and a household survey. Results show an extreme discrepancy between official wood consumption figures (50-60 m3 p.a.) and figures based on household wood consumption (310-404 m3 p.a.). The forest also serves as an important winter pasture over the seven months between October and April (stocking density 0.61 livestock units/ha), but payments for these ecosystem services are low, with annually 40 KGS/ha. Local residents are aware of additional material and nonmaterial ecosystem services of the riparian forest. Opinions diverge upon the question if there is forest over-exploitation, potentially because different stakeholders have different concepts of an optimal forest status. Consequently, optimal forest use behaviour can only be defined by the local users themselves, e.g., in a future stakeholder dialogue.}, language = {en} } @article{MacPhersonPaulHelming2020, author = {MacPherson, Joseph and Paul, Carsten and Helming, Katharina}, title = {Linking Ecosystem Services and the SDGs to Farm-Level Assessment Tools and Models}, series = {Sustainability}, volume = {12}, journal = {Sustainability}, number = {16}, publisher = {MDPI}, issn = {2071-1050}, doi = {10.3390/su12166617}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3395}, pages = {19}, year = {2020}, abstract = {A number of tools and models have been developed to assess farm-level sustainability. However, it is unclear how well they potentially incorporate ecosystem services (ES), or how they may contribute to attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Understanding how farm-level assessment tools and models converge on these new paradigms of sustainability is important for drawing comparison on sustainability performances of farming systems, conducting meta-analyses and upscaling local responses to global driving forces. In this study, a coverage analysis was performed for several farm-level sustainability assessment (SA) tools (SAFA, RISE, KSNL, DLG) and models (MODAM, MONICA, APSIM), in regard to their potential for incorporating ES and contribution to attaining the SDGs. Lists of agricultural-relevant CICES classes and SDG targets were compiled and matched against the indicators of the tools and models. The results showed that SAFA possessed the most comprehensive coverage of ES and SDGs, followed by RISE and KSNL. In comparison to models, SA tools were observed to have a higher degree of potential for covering ES and SDGs, which was attributed to larger and broader indicators sets. However, this study also suggested that, overall, current tools and models do not sufficiently articulate the concept of ecosystem services.}, language = {en} }