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Ecosystem services
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment defined Ecosystem Services simply as “the benefits people derive from Ecosystems”. Besides resources like food, wood and other raw materials, plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms provide many regulatory services such as pollination of crops, prevention of soil erosion or water purification.
In spite of the crucial ecological, cultural and economic importance of these services, the biodiversity of ecosystems is still declining worldwide.
One major reason for the continued loss and degradation of ecosystems is that the value (importance) of ecosystems to human welfare is still underestimated in most economic development decisions because the benefits of their services are not, or only partly, captured in conventional market economics. Furthermore, the costs of externalities of economic development (e.g. pollution, deforestation) are usually not accounted for and inappropriate tax and subsidy systems stimulate over-exploitation of resources and other ecosystem services.
There is also a lack of data: most decisions in which trade-offs in ecosystem services are involved are based on incomplete information, leading to non-sustainable developments. Often the economic and social costs of non-sustainable ecosystem use are only realized when values are lost that can often only be restored at high costs, if at all.
Ecosystem services in the international agenda
In the past years, attention for ecosystem services and their values have increased rapidly. Several international conferences (e.g. the World Parks Congress (Durban, Sept. 2003) the IUCN World Conservation Congress (Bangkok, Nov. 2004)) and Conventions (for example CBD or Ramsar) placed “Ecosystem Services and Benefits” high on the agenda. The release of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) was an important milestone, highlighting the dependence of human wellbeing on ecosystems, and stressed the need to better describe, quantify and value (ecologically, culturally and economically) the importance and benefits of the goods and services provided by ecosystems and biodiversity.
Objective of the CEM theme on ecosystem services
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To improve the knowledge base on ecosystem services and values and stimulate the integration of this knowledge in planning and decision making for sustainable Ecosystem Management through development of case studies, guidelines, and dissemination. |
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Some key questions
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To what extent are ecosystems able to provide goods and services in a sustainable way and how can we measure the effects of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss? |
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How can we measure the importance (value) of ecosystem services, not only economically but also take account of ecological and cultural values and perceptions? |
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How can we identify the users/beneficiaries of ecosystem services and involve them in structural financial streams to maintain ecosystems and their services? |
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How can we communicate the knowledge on ecosystem services and values to decision makers and the general public and thus build local and political support? |
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How can we convince (potential) donors that benefits of conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems usually outweigh the costs? |
Planned activities
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To stimulate and facilitate the incorporation of ecosystem services and values into ongoing case studies on ecosystem management and stimulate the development of new case studies. |
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To develop guidelines and handbooks for ecosystem service assessment, valuation and financing in collaboration with other IUCN programs and regional offices. |
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To facilitate access to available data in close collaboration with existing databases and clearing house websites such as www.naturevaluation.org. |
Contact
For more information, please contact CEM Global Thematic Leader on Ecosystem Services, Dr. Rudolf de Groot, dolf.degroot wur.nl.
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