MODULE 10

• Ecosystem Services


  • Provisioning
  • Regulating
  • Cultural/Aesthetic/Ethical
  • Supporting
• Example of Provisioning Services

  • Food
  • Fresh water
  • Fuelwood
  • Fiber
  • Biochemicals
  • Genetic resources
• Example of Regulating Services

  • Climate regulation
  • Disease regulation
  • Water regulation
  • Water purification
  • Pollination
  • Storm protection
• Examples of Cultural Services

  • Spiritual & religious
  • Recreation & ecotourism
  • Aesthetic
  • Inspirational
  • Educational
  • Sense of place
  • Cultural heritage
• Examples of Supporting Services

  • Soil formation
  • Nutrient cycling
  • Primary production
• Ironically, agriculture is one of the major contributors to biodiversity loss
• Agricultural runoff and aquaculture waste is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus


  Leads to eutrophication, excessive algal growth, blocks sunlight, bacteria utilize oxygen to decompose dead algae → creation of dead zones
• Ecosystem health represents the sustainability of an ecosystem that needs a minimal external support by management measures, and is closely interrelated to the ability of an ecosystem to provide and sustain ecosystem services
• Valuing Ecosystem Services


  To provide information necessary for decision making because available resources are scarce, and it is important to manage those resources in a way that contributes to human well being
• Types of Ecosystem Service Values

  • Use Value
  • Option Value
  • Existence Value
  • Bequest Value
• Baba Dioum: '"In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught."'
• Provisioning Services


  usually materials provided by the environment; products obtained from ecosystems
• a biodiverse ecosystem provides good nutrition by delivering a mix of macro and micronutrients essential for every organism in the ecosystem
• Clean water


  provided by a complex interaction of living systems, ecosystems, and the hydrologic cycle
• dead zones 


  where oxygen levels have dropped to levels that can no longer sustain life
• regulating services


  processes that moderate something to a certain level; benefits obtained from regulation of ecosystem processes
• ecosystems are sources of traditional medicine and raw materials for pharmacologic researches
• cultural services


  non-material/intangible benefits we get through experiences
• supporting services


  necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services
• total economic value (tev)

  • measure of economic value of any environmental asset
  • cost-benefit analysis that refers to the value people get from a natural resource compared to not having it
• use value 


  value derived from the actual direct or indirect use of the resource or service
• option value 


  value that people place on having the option to enjoy something in the future, although they may not currently use it.
• non-use or passive use values

  1. existence values
  2. bequest values
• existence values 


  non-use value that people place on simply knowing that the resource exists, even if they will never see or use it
• bequest value


  value that people place on knowing that future generations will have the option to enjoy something