4 Ecosystem services Flashcards
Ecosystem functions
- chemical, physical and biological processes or properties of the ecosystems that contribute to its self-persistence
- what ecosystem “does”
Ecosystem services
- benefits that humans directly or indirectly derive from ecosystem functions
- what an ecosystem “gives”
- they have a value for the society
e.g.
- atmosphere control
- storm protection
- flood control
ecosystem goods
- “touchable”
e.g.
- wood for furniture
- fish harvest
- water
how do marine ecosystems generate economic benefits?
- structure (biotic and abiotic components) and functioning of marine ecosystems lead to ecological production of ecosystem services (goods, services and cultural benefits)
- some of ecosystem services impact human well-being directly
-others have indirect impact through supporting or protecting vulnerable economic assets and production activities
Ecosystem disservices
-ecosystem functions perceived as negative for human well-being
e.g.
- damage to physical infrastructures like microbial activity decomposing wood constructions / corrosion of stone buildings and statues by bird excrements / breaking up pavements by root systems
- wind-pollinated plants causing allergic reactions
- diseases transmitted by animals
- blockage of views by plants
natural capital
- world’s stock of natural resources (including soil, air, water, organisms…)
- some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services (ecosystem functions)
- includes physical and biophysical components of an ecosystem
- these components work together to produce a flow of services to the economy and to society
- they support human well-being
different components of value of ecosystems
the importance or value of ecosystems is roughly divided into 3 types
1) ecological
2) socio-cultural
3) economic
What is EBM?
- Ecosystem Based Management
- for managing the interactive and cumulative impacts of the growing number of human activities to maintain ecosystems in a healthy, productive and resilient condition
- for mainstreaming natural capital into decisions
- aim is to make better decisions and actions relating to the use of land, water and other elements of natural capital
What does the Natural Capital Project?
- it’s a partnership betweenStanfordUniversity,TheNature Conservancy, and World Wildlife Fund
- they design practicaltools to help mainstreaming ecosystem services into everyday decision making around the world
What is the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment? (MA)
a global scientific assessment with the objective of
- assessing the consequences of environmental changes for human well-being
- assessing the scientific basis for action needed to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of those systems and their contribution to human well-being
- provide a state-of-the-art scientific appraisal of the condition and trends in the world’s ecosystems and the services they provide
- provide options to restore, conserve or enhance the sustainable use of ecosystems
What are the types of ecosystem services? (based on MA and TEEB)
1) Provisioning
2) Regulation
3) Cultural
only possible if ecosystem functions can be maintained (baseline)
What are the consequences for people deriving from the 4 types of ecosystem services?
- Security
- Material
- Health
- Social Relations
- Freedom and Choice of action
Anthropocentric approach of Ecosystem Services
- stipulates (schreibt vor) that value is based on the ability to give utility (or well being) to humans
- this view is inherent to Benefit-cost analysis, which further assumes that the value to society is the sum of all values
biocentric approach of Ecosystem Services
-the biocentric approach asserts that value consists in the ability to provide well-being or utility to humans and to other species
- this independent value is sometimes referred to as intrinsic value
- aims to protect non-human organisms and nature as whole
Components of the total economic value of biodiversity
Direct market valuation
- the exchange value that ecosystem services have in trade, mainly applicable to the ‘goods’ (i.e. production functions) but also some information functions (e.g. recreation) and regulation functions
- Direct market-valuation methods are used to estimate ecosystem services via the use of direct market prices and production functions
indirect market valuation
when there are no explicit markets for services
techniques to estimate indirectly the value (and revealed willingness to pay) are:
- avoided cost
- replacement cost
- factor income
“avoided cost” as technique to estimate the indirect market value
- services allow society to avoid costs that would have been incurred in the absence of those services
- e.g. flood control (which avoids property damages) and waste treatment (which avoids health costs) by wetlands
“Replacement Cost” as technique to estimate the indirect market value
- services could be replaced with human-made systems
- e.g. natural waste treatment by marshes which can be (partly) replaced with costly artificial treatment systems
“Factor Income” as technique to estimate the indirect market value
- many ecosystem services enhance incomes
- e.g. natural water quality improvements increases commercial fisheries catch and thereby incomes of fishermen
“Travel Cost” as technique to estimate the indirect market value
The travel cost method is used to estimate the value of recreational benefits generated by ecosystems
It assumes that the value of the site or its recreational services is reflected in how much people are willing to pay to get there.
“Hedonic Pricing” as technique to estimate the indirect market value
- service demand may be reflected in the prices people will pay for associated goods
- e.g. housing prices at beaches usually exceed prices of identical inland homes near less attractive scenery
Contingent Valuation
Service demand may be elicited by posing hypothetical scenarios that involve the description of alternatives in a social survey questionnaire
- e.g. a survey questionnaire might ask respondents to express their willingness to pay (i.e. their stated preference as opposed to revealed preference) to increase the level of water quality in a stream, lake or river so that they might enjoy activities like swimming, boating, or fishing
Group Valuation
- involves group deliberation - valuation approach is based on principles of deliberative democracy and the assumption that public decision making should result, not from the aggregation of separately measured individual preferences, but from open public debate
What are Valuation Methods for economic values?
- direct market valuation
- indirect market evaluation (avoided costs, replacement cost, factor income, travel cost, hedonic pricing)
- contingent valuation
- group valuation
Willingness to pay
- amount that people are willing to pay or sacrifice in order to enjoy a natural amenity
- if a lot of water is there the willingness to pay is low
- the rarer it becomes, the higher is the willingness to pay more
