Ecosystem service demand and supply dynamics under different farming systems: A participatory GIS assessment in Malawi

The UN Sustainable Development Goals advocates providing training and technical assistance in developing and strengthening integrated monitoring systems to provide reliable forest resources and land use/change information needed for management planning. Several ecosystem service (ES) demand and supply assessments apply biophysical and econometric methods to evaluate ES use patterns. Decentralized participatory social assessments, however, incorporate farmers’ local knowledge and facilitate community-based management. Here, we assessed ES demand and supply in community forests using a participatory approach involving local farmers (N = 100) in Malawi. Indicators were collaboratively developed with stakeholders in intervention and control communities. We demonstrated that integrating local knowledge reveals nuances that biophysical and economic assessments may mask. ES demand outmatched supply in all study communities, as much as three times in some forests, but with variation from community to community. Demand for regulating services was higher in the intervention communities where agroecology is predominantly practiced, which farmers attributed to the knowledge about the role of forests in pollination and water and pest control on farm productivity. Differences in use patterns between communities with contrasting knowledge systems meant local knowledge influenced environmental behavior toward resource use. The study demonstrates the need for inclusive planning, assessment, and management of community forests.