Developing a Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) Valuation Framework for Enhanced Natural Resource Conservation at the Forests of Bangladesh

Over the years, several experts and organizations have tried to define cultural ecosystem services (CES) and develop an agreed-upon model to incorporate its values into policies, but in vain. Literature review reveals that the main reason for this is the subjective nature of the sub-categories that make up CESs definitions, which are often incompatible with national conservation goals. Although most developed countries do take cultural values into account while making land-use change decisions, this is not the case in the developing world, where economic targets get precedence over social and environmental ones. Resultantly, the CES frameworks absence leads to higher levels of encroachment of natural resources, especially in rural/remote resource-rich places of these regions. Hence, the research aims to explore the diverse meaning/interpretation of CES in a comprehensive manner, create a model that will reflect the sub-categories of CES as variables from various stakeholders perspectives (keeping a developing country scenario in mind), fine-tune it after discussions with relevant local, legal, political and scientific key informants, collect data from forest-based communities of chosen sites in Bangladesh and later, develop a framework for assessing the CES. The researcher will then set on to (1) test the model to check its validity, (2) apply the framework to assess CES (and provide empirical data and insights on its application), (3) assess its acceptance by Bangladeshi policy makers and the conservation policies and market prices of CES, and (4) explore its usefulness for helping to set research agendas and influence policy-level intervention. The framework preparation and existence are expected to improve forest community and environmental scientists engagement with policy practitioners and promote sustainable conservation schemes in these regions.