Socio-cultural valuation of ecosystem services: uncovering the links between values, drivers of change, and human well-being

•We conducted a social assessment of ecosystem services in semi-arid watersheds.•We identified five stakeholder groups that used and managed ecosystem services.•Provisioning services related to traditional practices were found to be critical.•We found contrasting perceptions of ecosystem services, drivers and well-being.•We suggest that these divergent values can advance our knowledge in identifying trade-offs.

Ecosystem services studies currently lack information regarding stakeholders' socio-cultural values. This information is highly relevant to human well-being, which is the motivation of ecosystem services assessments. We present results from an analysis of stakeholders' perceptions of ecosystem services, well-being and drivers of change in two semi-arid watersheds in south-eastern Spain. Based on the information compiled through a literature review, participant observation and semi-structured interviews, we designed a questionnaire and conducted 381 interviews. Our results show that semiarid watersheds deliver a large variety of ecosystem services; however, these services are perceived in different ways. We identified five stakeholder groups, including: locals dependent on provisioning ecosystem services, locals not directly dependent on provisioning ecosystem services, environmental and local development professionals and rural and nature tourists. Overall, provisioning services related to traditional practices were perceived as highly important and highly vulnerable by every stakeholder group. However, we found contrasting perceptions of some ecosystem services among stakeholders and of the relevant drivers of change and well-being. We suggest that socio-cultural valuation is a useful tool to prioritize ecosystem services but more attention should be directed to emerging trade-offs. Linking values to other stakeholder perceptions might be a useful way to move forward in ecosystem services valuation.