While there is agreement that ecosystem services provide critical life support, local communities can be disengaged from the process of conservation, allocation and decision-making. How do we move from concepts, which are often seen as hand waving by natural resource users and policymakers, to concrete valuation appreciated at the level of the household, community and policy maker? In this special issue, we explore examples from southern Africa where ecosystem services are engaged and identified by users as important and critical to improved livelihoods as well as advancing business outcomes. Two papers focus on how small, disenfranchised communities can be empowered to build a common vision of natural resource priority and identify a voice in the planning process. The second two papers in this issue investigate the role of two functional mammal guilds, bats and mesocarnivores, in reducing crop depredation. The final paper investigates how ecovolunteerism can fulfill conservation and community development gaps that occur when governments and NGO’s do not avail themselves to local communities. Together these research papers provide a holistic and synthetic view about the links between humans and ecosystems, help to assess community level capacity for sustainability and stewardship, and define what the metrics of success look like.

尽管已经达成共识，生态系统服务可以提供关键的生命支持，但可以使地方社区脱离保护，分配和决策过程。我们如何从通常被自然资源使用者和政策制定者挥舞的概念转变为在家庭，社区和政策制定者层面上受到赞赏的具体估值？在本期特刊中，我们将以非洲南部为例，在这些示例中，用户参与并确定了生态系统服务对于改善生计和促进业务成果至关重要。有两篇论文集中讨论了如何赋予小型的，被剥夺权利的社区以权力，以建立对自然资源优先事项的共同愿景，并在规划过程中确定声音。本期的后两篇论文探讨了两个功能性哺乳动物行会（蝙蝠和中食肉食动物）在减少农作物掠食中的作用。最后一篇论文探讨了当政府和非政府组织不善于利用当地社区时，生态志愿服务如何填补自然保护和社区发展的空白。这些研究论文共同提供了关于人类与生态系统之间联系的整体和综合观点，有助于评估社区一级的可持续性和管理能力，并确定成功的指标。