Birds can be used as ‘cultural ambassadors’ to help promote a nature reserve and this can benefit people and wildlife in wetland management plans

Issue 617: Protected wetland areas provide cultural ecosystem services which can be overlooked in management decisions. 

Promoting and prioritising flagship bird species as cultural ambassadors is an idea that offers opportunities to marry wetland conservation management with tourism, in ways that can provide beneficial ecosystem services for people whilst also helping wildlife. 

Protected wetland conservation areas do not only conserve biodiversity, they also provide important environmental benefits, which we call ecosystem services. Among these are cultural benefits such as recreation, education, spiritual and creative enrichment, and improved mental health and wellbeing. Whilst nature reserve management often recognises the importance of these ecosystem services, their consideration and usefulness in site management decision making is worth closer understanding.  

This study showed how herons became an ‘ambassador’ bird family used in the management plan of King’s Lagoon coastal nature reserve, in Italy’s Gargano National Park, as a result of researchers combining field observations of the birds with visitor questionnaires, to find out exactly how conservation and visitor-centred management goals could be combined to guide management.  

This 40-hectare wetland is part of the Natura 2000 network restored through an EU LIFE project in 2019.  The mosaic of open water, wetland and salt steppe provides a habitat for at least 94 bird species, with birdwatching being a popular activity, along with footpaths, towers and hides. 

The heron family was chosen after researchers investigated which flagship species might act as a cultural ambassador to promote the nature reserve. They wanted to choose a species that was easily visible and identifiable for non-expert visitors, present throughout the year and appealing to the public. On this reserve, an analysis of bird abundance and distribution identified six potential species, however none of them fulfilled all the requirements. The researchers instead selected the heron family – with eight species recorded in the reserve – as a flagship group. Between them, these species met all the flagship requirements. Herons are also a useful indicator species for wetland health. 

To reach this decision, researchers carried out field surveys to identify bird species and taxonomic groups, and they identified mosaic mixed habitat areas as being of the highest priority from a management perspective. Researchers then asked 239 visitors their opinions about the reserve, reasons for visiting, satisfaction levels, perceptions of highest priority ecosystem services provided by the reserve, and which habitats they most associated with each one. 

63% of respondents said they visited to connect with nature. Satisfaction was highest in the mixed habitat and wetland, but lower in the agricultural and semi-natural habitats. 45% of respondents selected cultural ecosystem services as a priority. Respondents associated priority ecosystem services with the mixed habitat in 52% of cases and with the wetland habitat in 30% of cases. 

The researchers concluded that the reserve management strategy should focus on the ecological needs of the heron family and enhancing the mixed habitat, and they suggested a range of management recommendations. They considered there were advantages of combining ecological factors and cultural ecosystem services (visitor perception) in priority-setting because enhancing benefits for visitors could increase income and support for the reserve. They noted that this conservation action could provide cultural ecosystem services to attract visitors. Aligning these objectives therefore created a positive feedback loop or ‘virtuous circle’ to maximise benefits to both biodiversity and society.  

As a result, measures were proposed to improve the herons’ habitats and provide them with resources (feeding, breeding, shelter, roosting) to optimise their abundance as a flagship species, with the goal being to preserve biodiversity heritage and also increase cultural ecosystem services in the wetland, thus ensuring that both natural and cultural resources are fully and appropriately valued, protected and maintained. 

They recommended taking a holistic approach in management strategies including selecting the most suitable species group as ambassadors, along with priority habitat type, visitor preferences, improving habitat diversification, maintaining ecological balance, and securing essential resources to support habitat diversity. These guidelines can create a positive feedback loop in which a healthy ecosystem provides richer cultural experiences, and vice versa.  

This study was supported by the NextGenerationEU programme.      

Reference:

Ingaramo, M., Cammerino, A.R.B., Rizzi, V., Gioiosa, M., Monteleone, M. (2024) Birds as Cultural Ambassadors: Bridging Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity Conservation in Wetland Planning. Sustainability 16, 10286.  https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310286

To cite this article/service: 

Science for Environment Policy: European Commission DG Environment News Alert Service, edited by SCU, The University of the West of England, Bristol.  

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