Ecosystems provide a multitude of benefits to humanity, from food to recreation. In our latest In-depth Report, we explore four core facets of the ecosystem services concept: the links between biodiversity and ecosystem services; techniques for mapping and assessing ecosystems and their services; valuation of ecosystem services and the importance of considering all services; and biodiversity as part of an interconnected system. Ecosystem services are the many different benefits that ecosystems provide to people. For example, a stand of trees can reduce air pollution, purify the water supply, reduce the likelihood of floods and help regulate the climate by capturing and storing carbon. It might also provide timber for buildings, a space for recreation and improve the aesthetic qualities of the landscape. Despite the importance of these services to people, in the past many have been taken for granted, being viewed as free and infinite. However, it is now clear that the worldwide degradation of ecosystems is also reducing the services they can provide. The ecosystem services concept provides a starting point towards defining, monitoring and valuing such services. Making the fundamental nature of these services explicit not only helps to raise awareness of the importance of protecting ecosystems, it can also provide decision makers with quantitative data, enabling them to consider all aspects of the socio-economic-ecological system in which we live. In this way we can work towards policies which protect biodiversity while optimising sustainable use of ecosystems, allowing both humanity and ecosystems to thrive.
