Back to news
8 Jan 2021 | Ecosystem services

Systematic review of literature on HKH ecosystem services calls for holistic future research

Pratikshya Kandel, Syed Muhammad Abubakar & Nakul Chettri

1 min Read

70% Complete
Between Bamiyan and Band-e Amir, Afghanistan. Existing research on ecosystem services in the HKH focuses mostly on biophysical elements of ecosystem services. There is limited coverage of sociopolitical aspects and the management of ecosystem services. (Photo: Alex Treadway/ICIMOD)

Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) ecosystems provide diverse ecosystem services to nearly two billion people in the mountains and downstream, across the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and other major river basins. These ecosystem services are indispensable for human wellbeing, particularly so in a region where 70–80% of the people live in rural areas and 60–85% are directly dependent on ecosystem services for subsistence.

Our new research article – a comprehensive systematic review of literature on ecosystem services in the HKH – delves into how scholarly works have covered this vital subject. We aimed to plug existing knowledge gaps by consolidating 439 peer-reviewed articles in 166 journals on ecosystem services in the HKH. We examined temporal trends, geographical distribution, authorship patterns, journal coverage, keywords used, and scholarly networks in ecosystem services research to establish where the studies have been focused, which countries are commissioning them, and which themes are being prioritized. With such analysis, we can guide our future research direction towards addressing important gaps.

Limited geography and disciplines

We found that the research on ecosystem services in the HKH has advanced rapidly in less than two decades, in line with the growing global discourses on ecosystems. Of the articles reviewed, nearly 62% were published in the last five years. Most of the research on ecosystem services has been conducted in China, followed by Nepal and India.

Of the 1,460 keywords we reviewed, “ecosystem services” is the most commonly used, followed by “China”, “Nepal”, “conservation”, and “biodiversity”. Research institutions from 56 countries have networked to conduct collaborative research on ecosystem services in the HKH, with 1,386 authors in total. The existing body of research focuses mostly on biophysical elements of ecosystem services, with very few published studies covering its social and political aspects and the management of ecosystem services.

Holistic and inclusive research

We believe that since ecosystem services is a multidisciplinary concept, a holistic, landscape-level understanding of the region regarding ecosystem services would help in identifying emerging themes and gaps, and in providing directions for future ecosystem services research projects and conservation investments in the HKH. This holistic approach requires a greater emphasis on social and political sciences, together with the biophysical sciences.

As the HKH region is home to diverse ecosystems shared by eight countries, we also need regional analyses of ecosystem services. Future research also needs to incorporate the local context to avoid the dominance of international perspectives and the marginalization of local concerns.

 

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up
22 Mar 2017 HKPL
Xi’an delegation visits ICIMOD and other relevant departments in Nepal

An official delegation from Shaanxi Province, Xian, China visited ICIMOD from 19 - 23 February 2017, a visit organized by ...

10 Dec 2018 HI-LIFE
Fostering Regional Cooperation for Primate Conservation and Research in the Far-Eastern Himalaya

The meetings involved protected area managers, scholars, and experts from within and outside the landscape and explored opportunities and constraints ...

21 Sep 2018 REDD+
ICIMOD supports Myanmar in drafting REDD + Action Plan for Shan State

Myanmar has the largest remaining forest area in Southeast Asia, with 44% of its land classified as forest, but it ...

14 Dec 2015 KSL
Toilets Clean up Kailash Sacred Landscape

  The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in collaboration with Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Foundation and Central Himalayan Environment ...

Participation in sixth Regional Conservation Forum meeting in Bangkok

The Sixth Regional Conservation Forum (RCF ), organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asia Office, the Ministry of Natural Resources ...

7 Feb 2020 KSL
Including neglected voices in natural resource management planning

Women are primary users of natural resources; yet their voices are rarely sought when plans are prepared to manage natural ...

2 Apr 2021 Bhutan
Training Bhutan’s forest field officials in mapping human-wildlife conflict hotspots

  Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) and its impacts on people and biodiversity are multifold, especially in ecologically significant regions like the Hindu ...

Enhancing Data Compilation and Management Skills

A two-day regional orientation on data compilation and management was organized at ICIMOD on 5-6 April 2016. About 15 participants, ...