How to assess the multiple services provided by livestock? A preliminary methodology applied on the French case-study

Abstract

Livestock plays a major role in rural areas, where it provides economic, environmental and social services. There is a pressing need to assess the multiple positive contributions provided by livestock to society. This would be useful for society in general but constitutes a new scientific topic as well. The objective of this study was to develop a framework for the assessment of the social, economical and ecological services provided by livestock in France. Combining expert knowledge and literature review, we first defined the set of services provided by livestock. We then selected indicators to quantify the services considered at the department level considering the available databases on the French case-study. We finally assessed services and their relationships (synergies or tradeoffs) on a gradient of French departments. Four main classes of services were revealed: provisioning (e.g.food quantity and quality), environmental quality (e.g.biodiversity, diversified landscapes), rural vitality (e.g.employment, rural dynamism) and cultural heritage (e.g.gastronomy, landscape quality). Four major types of services were revealed, showing contrasted levels of services provided. The analysis of the spatial distribution of the types of services sets. The main socio-economic, ecological, political and geographical determinants of service provision will be identified in further study to inform policy makers and society.