News items from ISU Marketing and Communications POCATELLO – Idaho State University is coordinating studies by researchers in Idaho and from around the world that examine how different societies in different ecosystems understand the economic and other benefits ecosystems provide.
In the United States, the ISU Social-Ecological Research Laboratory is studying two sites in Idaho, including the Portneuf and Treasure valleys, and watersheds in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.
Internationally, the lab is working with researchers at two sites in Spain, and one site each in China, Sweden and South Africa.
“The focus of the effort is looking at the long-term challenge that different sites of the world have dealing with water scarcity and governance.” Part of the lab’s effort is working with the National Science Foundation’s Managing Idaho’s Landscapes for Ecosystem Services (MILES) project that has a goal to provide science-based decision support needed to sustainably manage Idaho’s resources.
The focus of the grant is understanding ecosystem services provided by Idaho´s landscapes, which are benefits that flow from ecosystems to humans that support directly or indirectly their wellbeing.
“So, for example, we may want to conserve an Idaho landscape because we like to go hunting and fishing there, but also because we know the welfare of our communities is directly and indirectly dependent on the way we conserve other benefits such as the water from aquifers or the cultural identity of local communities.” Earlier this year Castro’s laboratory brought researchers from around the world for a Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) – Water Scarcity Workshop that examined these issues.
These researchers have varied academic backgrounds including expertise in ecology, hydrology, political science, sociology, physical and human geography, history, public policy, urban planning, computer sciences, communication and visualization.
“We are seeing if we can provide big messages regarding global sustainability, that is the goal for me,” Castro said.
“There are different countries, with different cultural contexts, examining these issues and our long-term goal is identify within these communities what are our biggest challenges are.” The MILES grant has been beneficial in a variety of ways, including putting Idaho and its universities “on the map” internationally.
For information on the ISU Social-Ecological Research Laboratory visit http://www.antoniojcastro.com.