Module 1: Ecosystem Services
Module aims
In this module, we will:
- define natural capital and ecosystem services
- discuss the production of ecosystem goods and services
- briefly discuss the valuation of ecosystem services
- explore the causes and consequences of loosing ecosystem services
- introduce the links between ecosystem services and the two major themes in this course, i.e., ‘Population and Consumption’, and ‘Population and Environmental Impact’.
The information in this module will be repeatedly referred to throughout this course and we will specifically come back to ecosystem services (ESS) and their role in natural resource management in the final module.
Introduction
Despite our ingenuity and development of technology, humans are totally reliant on the world’s ecosystems to provide oxygenated air, clean water, food, fiber for clothing, and raw materials for both building and producing medicines.
All life and economies depend on energy from the sun (solar capital) and the earth's resources and ecosystem services (collectively termed natural capital).
Consider Miller & Spoolman (2012), page 9 Figure 1-4. This figure shows the Earth's natural capital, which consists of resources such as air and soil and ecosystem services or natural services, which consists of processes such as nutrient and water cycling.
Ecosystem services are naturally produced by healthy ecosystems. The concept of ecosystem services evolved out of a union between the disciplines of ecology and economics. Much of the research into ecosystem services is based on determining their economic value, in order to use and manage ecosystems and their products more sustainably and effectively. Throughout this unit we will consider human use of, and impact on, natural capital and ecosystem services.