Resource

Ecosystem Services Card Game Factsheet

Author/Contact:

Eszter Kelemen
Senior research fellow at ESSRG Ltd. and senior lecturer at Corvinus University of Budapest
kelemen.eszter@essrg.hu 
OPPLA username: ekelemen

Publication date:

Resource description:

The ecosystem services card game is a method developed to capture the sociocultural values related to ecosystem services. This method specifically focuses on exploring and understanding human preferences and perceptions on ecosystem services (Fontaine et al., 2013). 
The ecosystem services card game method combines photo-elicitation with a rating exercise, and serves a double purpose. On one hand, it encourages interviewees to reflect what an ecosystem services means to him/her and thus provides qualitative information. On the other hand, by rating ecosystem services according to a relevant evaluation criterion, a quantitative ranking of ecosystem services can be obtained and comparisons between ecosystem services can be made. The evaluation criterion usually relates to the demand side of ecosystem services (e.g. importance, usefulness, level of use, desirability), but it could also be used to evaluate the supply side (e.g. occurrence, level of supply).

Requirements:

  • Need to collect new data through face-to-face interviews or group discussions.
  • Qualitative data collection and analysis skills are necessary.
  • Ability to work with researchers from other fields as well as with non-academic stakeholders is important.

Advantages:

  • Relatively simple and quick
  • Card sets can be tailor-made according to specific situations
  • Stimulates stakeholders to think within a holistic ecosystem services framework ('social learning')

Constraints:

  • Not all classes of ecosystem services might be appropriately valued when valuation methods using stakeholder preference are used (Agbenyega et al., 2009
  • Carpenter et al., 2006). It is suitable to characterize provisoning and cultural services from the point of view of stakeholders, but regulating services are sometimes undervalued if stakeholder knowledge is limited on these topics.
  • It is important to keep in mind that the card game only values perceptions of stakeholders.

Licence:

  • Free, no licence

Development stage:

  • Full, working product
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