Identifying pathways to reduce discrepancies between desired and provided ecosystem services

Abstract Discrepancies between desired ecosystem services (the types, amounts and qualities of services a person would ideally like to benefit from) and the actual provision of ecosystem services (services actually obtained) reflect people’s inability to receive the benefits they would like from nature, and can lead to conflict. We developed a novel process that combined stakeholder analysis, a survey, and a workshop to generate information about discrepancies between desired and provided ecosystem services, and facilitate community-based development of ideas for actions to reduce these discrepancies. We applied this process in a region of Quebec, Canada, where our results show how community members benefit from numerous ecosystem services on diverse property types, but they benefit unequally. Using our process, community members developed ideas for actions to reduce most identified discrepancies. Actions centered around the following themes: developing infrastructure; controlling access; gaining status; encouraging involvement; adjusting natural infrastructure; increasing services; and, information transmission. Findings related to our process also emerged: different knowledge types complement each other to create a broader picture of how people benefit from nature; assessing satisfaction helps uncover nuances associated with discrepancies; knowledge co-creation helps develop ideas for actions to reduce discrepancies; and, considering different perspectives can help avoid trade-offs.