Rivers provide a range of Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) such as aesthetic values, sense of place and inspiration, which remain insufficiently studied due to challenges associated with the assessment of their subjective and intangible attributes. However, the understanding of CES remains important as they are strongly linked to human wellbeing. This study utilizes a questionnaire-based survey to capture views from two villages along the mainstream of the Beas River in India, to identify the CES it provides, to assess how local communities appreciate their importance and how they relate to river flows. In total, 62 respondents were interviewed. Findings show that the Beas River provides several CES but among these, spiritual/religious ceremonies and rituals, aesthetic values and inspiration benefits were indicated as absolutely essential to the local communities. Results also demonstrate that people’s perception of the quality of CES is sometimes linked to river flows. It can be concluded that the Beas River is crucial in the functioning and livelihoods of local communities as it lies within the core of their cultural, religious and spiritual practices. This study reinforces the need to consider the full suite of ecosystem service categories in sustainable water resources development, planning and decision making.

中文翻译：

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迈向无形的淡水文化生态系统服务：为可持续水资源管理提供信息

河流提供了一系列的文化生态系统服务（CES），例如美学价值，位置感和灵感，由于对其主观和无形属性的评估面临挑战，因此对它们的研究仍然不够。但是，对CES的理解仍然很重要，因为它们与人类的福祉息息相关。这项研究采用基于问卷的调查，从印度比斯河干流沿线的两个村庄收集意见，确定其提供的CES，评估当地社区如何理解其重要性以及它们与河流流量的关系。总共采访了62名受访者。调查结果显示，比斯河（Beas River）提供了几种CES，但其中包括精神/宗教仪式和仪式，美学价值和灵感收益对当地社区是绝对必要的。结果还表明，人们对CES质量的认识有时与河流流量有关。可以得出结论，比斯河对当地社区的功能和生计至关重要，因为它处于其文化，宗教和精神习俗的核心。这项研究强调在可持续水资源开发，规划和决策过程中需要考虑全套生态系统服务类别。宗教和精神习俗。这项研究强调在可持续水资源开发，规划和决策过程中需要考虑全套生态系统服务类别。宗教和精神习俗。这项研究强调在可持续水资源开发，规划和决策过程中需要考虑全套生态系统服务类别。