Combining the four Life Framework of Values with Q-methodology to assess non-monetary values of ecosystem services in a Colombian Natural Park

Concerns regarding conflicts between subsistence activities and conservation arise in nature-protected areas as stakeholders pursue different interests that lead them to value ecosystem services differently. There is still a need to increase local-level valuation studies that inform decision-making to mitigate conflicts. This study utilizes the Life Framework of Values and Q-methodology to explore how inhabitants of the buffer zone assign values to the ecosystem services provided by Chingaza National Natural Park, Colombia. The results indicate that people value ecosystem services based on their experience with nature and their relationship with park administrators. The articulation of values is diverse; at the individual level, there is a tendency to express relational values associated with the “living in” category of the Life Framework of Values, while at the collective level, instrumental values from the “living from” category are deemed more important. The study proposes that as a robust and comprehensive tool, the Life Framework of Values helps categorize ecosystem services as instrumental, intrinsic, and relational values.