Connecting marine ecosystem services to human well-being: Insights from participatory well-being assessment in Kenya

Abstract

The linkage between ecosystems and human well-being is a focus of the conceptualization of “ecosystem services” as promoted by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. However, the actual nature of connections between ecosystems and the well-being of individuals remains complex and poorly understood. We conducted a series of qualitative focus groups with 5 different stakeholder groups connected to a small-scale Kenyan coastal fishery to understand: how well-being is understood within the community, and what is important for well-being, how people’s well-being has been affected by changes over the recent past people’s hopes and aspirations for their future fishery. This research was supported by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme