Earth at your Service

Human kind has come to the point, where in order to conserve and protect something it needs to have a value. Since it has been recognised that ecosystems are vital for human well-being, they are now increasingly considered as assets where there should be careful investment (Turner R.K and Daily G.C).

So what are ecosystem services?

The UK NEA defines them as: ‘the benefits provided by ecosystems that contribute to making human life both possible and worth living.’  The provision off these services can be both direct such as provision of material such as goods (e.g.: food or timer depending on the species present in that specific biome) or indirect-non material- such as services (e.g.: soil fertility depending on the processes occurring in that ecosystem including decomposition and nutrient cycling) (UK NEA).

Most of the attention for ecosystem services was received after the publication of ‘The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)’ in 2005 initiated by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2001 (Parliament). This report gives emphasis on the importance of conservation and sustainable use of our ecosystems highlighting the complex relationship with human well-being. As Figure 1 illustrates, there are astoundingly many services that ecosystems provide to keep humans happy and these are only a few of these services.

 

Figure 1: Linkages between Ecosystem Services and Human Well-being (MA)

The value of ecosystems varies across the world depending upon the services they provide. As Figure 2 shows, there is high value in the tropical region where most of the rainforests lie as well as some areas of Boreal forests. In my following post I will be discussing different case studies of services provided by the tropical rainforest around the world and their importance to human well-being.

Figure 2: Economic value of Ecosystem Services (WWF)