{
  "id": 17510988,
  "title": "Indigenous communities' perceptions of ecosystem services of a montane forest ecosystem in Nigeria: Implications for restoration planning",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/indigenous-communities-perceptions-of-ecosystem-services-of-a-montane",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-31T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.28.762469v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An investigation into the perceptions of ecosystem services (ES) among Indigenous communities near a Nigerian forest reserve reveals crucial insights for restoration planning. The study focused on eight communities surrounding a montane forest, which spans an elevational gradient of 700 meters, transitioning into mid-elevation and savannah ecosystems. The montane forest, renowned for its exceptional biodiversity, was the primary study area.\n\nUtilizing semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and species-use inventories, researchers identified which ES were valued by the community and to what extent. An ethnobotanical assessment further documented plant species used by the communities, classifying them as either forest or savannah species. The findings showed a considerable variation in the number of ES recognized, ranging from six to 20, across the different settlements.\n\nFood provision was found to be the most highly valued provisioning service, surpassing other service categories such as regulating, cultural, or supporting services in all communities. However, the majority of these provisioning services originated from savannah species rather than forest species. This study contributes to the increasing body of knowledge on indigenous knowledge concerning ecosystem services.\n\nThe implications of these findings are significant for restoration planning. Firstly, landscape-scale management should strive to maintain a mosaic of montane forest and derived savannah to cater to the communities' provisioning needs while simultaneously enhancing regulating and supporting services. Secondly, restoration efforts should prioritize tangible provisioning benefits, such as non-timber forest products, medicines, and food, alongside regulating and supporting services to align with local priorities. Lastly, given potential trade-offs between scientifically derived valuations (biodiversity, regulation) and stakeholder priorities, it is essential to engage in co-design of restoration objectives and implement adaptive governance strategies. These approaches are crucial to secure local buy-in and ensure ongoing stewardship of the restoration projects.",
  "summary": "Restoration of protected areas should aim to maximize outcomes for both biological conservation and local people's livelihoods. In rural Africa, livelihoods are inextricably linked to the provision of ecosystem services (ES) from natural resources, so that community-centred biodiversity conservation must be guided by local perceptions of ES. Our study examined perceptions of ES among eight…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}