ABSTRACT
Despite more than a decade of global efforts to assess ecosystem services, developing viable approaches to understanding cultural ecosystem services (CES) remains a subject of ongoing debate. It has been widely observed that local cultural practices and religions, as part of local identity, have particular links with CES, which can provide a novel perspective for CES valuations. Using empirically grounded case studies from Southwest China, this research adopts an anthropological approach with an emic perspective to examine the relationships between local identity and CES through sacred landscapes. In particular, the study explores the interplay between local cultural practices and ecosystems to understand the dynamics of CES in practice, affecting both the ecosystem and local cultural identity. The findings suggest that cultural identity promotes the implementation of CES. Therefore, recognizing, respecting, and protecting cultural identities drive CES to be more holistic and ensure its deeper integration with the community, which, in turn, promotes ecological management.
