Presentation 5.5: Ecosystem Services

Outline• Defining Ecosystem Services • Key Ecosystem Services Provided by

Forests• Ecosystem Markets and Payments for

Ecosystem Services: Putting a Price on Natural Assets

• Communicating “Nature’s Benefits and Values” to the Public

Section 1: Defining Ecosystem Services

Outline• Introduction• A Brief History• Common Defitions• The End Product is What Matters: An

Economist’s Perspective• The Process Also Matters: An

Ecologist’s Perspective• Summary

Introduction• Provide services critical to human

well-being• Benefits provided to humans• Produce goods we purchase• Produce goods we consciously

consume

History• Earliest record 400 B.C.• Field of ecosystem ecology emerged

in 1940s• Term “ecosystem services” started

late 1970s• Understand different perspectives

Common Definitions• The Millennium Ecosystem

Assessment– Provisioning Services– Regulating Services– Cultural Services– Supporting Services

The End Product Is What Matters: An Economist’s Perspective

• Developing approaches– Counting–Measuring– Assigning monetary values

• Emphasize the end/final product

The Process Also Matters: An Ecologist’s Perspective

• Wide range of conditions• Processes which ecosystems help sustain

life• Intermediate Functions• End Product

Summary• Ecosystem services can have different

meanings• Benefits ecosystems provide– Goods we purchase

• Food and Fuel– “Free” Services

• Waste decomposition and crop pollination

Section 2: Key Ecosystem Services Provided by Forests

Outline • Introduction• Provisioning Services• Regulating Services• Cultural Services• Aspects to Keep in Mind• Ecosystem Services and Disservices• Summary

Introduction• Ecosystems provide services that

benefit– People– Communities– Business– Contribute to our well-being

Ecosystem Services of Southern Forests

• Provisioning Services• Regulating Services• Cultural Services

Provisioning Services• Timber• Bioenergy• Nontimber forest products– Edible and culinary food– Arts and crafts –Medicine and dietary supplements– Floral and decorative– Landscape

• Clean Water

Regulating Services • Reduced Flooding and Erosion• Air Quality• Climate Regulation

Cultural Services• Aesthetic, spiritual, and religious

beliefs• Recreation

Aspects to Keep in Mind• Scale• Interrelationships• Double counting

Aspects to Keep in Mind• Economic Value• Different types of values

Aspects to Keep in Mind• Trade-offs• Co-benefits

Ecosystem Services and Disservices in the Wildland-Urban Interface

• Ecosystem Disservices

Summary

Section 3: Ecosystem Markets and Payments for Ecosystem Services: Putting a Price on Natural Assets

Outline• Introduction• Ecosystem Service Valuation • Types of Ecosystem Markets and

Payments for Ecosystem Services• Current Outlook• Summary

Introduction• Ecosystems provide essential

benefits to society through tangible products with clear market prices

Ecosystem Service Valuation • Determining value• Market Development

Types of Ecosystem Markets and Payments for Ecosystem Services

• Payment– Voluntary Markets– Compliance Markets– Public Payments– Voluntary Private Payments

Types of Ecosystem Markets and Payments for Ecosystem Services

• Commodity– Carbon–Water– Biodiversity

• Bundled Ecosystem Services

Current Outlook

Summary

Section 3: Communicating “Nature’s Benefits and Values” to the Public

Outline• Introduction• Nature’s Benefits• Nature’s Value• Communication Approaches • Summary

Introduction• Increase public

understanding/support• Nature’s Benefits • Nature’s Value• Communication Approaches

Nature’s Benefits• Talk about “nature’s benefits” or

“nature’s value”• Encourage people to think broadly

about the benefits of nature• Focus on public health and safety as

top benefits

Nature’s Benefits• Remind people of nature’s role in

providing materials for medicines• Highlight the benefits of nature for

providing food

Nature’s Value• Acknowledge the unquantifiable

value of nature • Clarify the value of conservation • Highlight non-monetary ways of

measuring nature’s value

Communication Approaches • Framing the Subject

Communication Approaches• Messengers and the Audience

Summary• Challenging to communicate

ecosystem concepts • Resource professionals communicate

information effectively is key • Important that audience

understands

Credits