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