Ecosystem services

Ecosystem services are processes by which the natural environment produces resources useful to people, as to economic services. They include:

 Provision of clean water and air
 Flood control
 Pollination of crops
 Mitigation of environmental hazards
 Pest and disease control
 Carbon sequestration
 Aesthetic, cultural and ethical values associated with biodiversity.

To look at the way in which ecosystems provide goods is popular now at Stanford University. The concept of ecosystem services is similar to that of natural capital.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment released in 2005 showed that 60% of ecosystem services are used in a way that destroys them.

 References 
Ecosystem Services: A Primer , Ecological Society of America (ESA)
The New Economy of Nature: The Quest to Make Conservation Profitable (), Gretchen C. Daily and Katherine Ellison.
Ecosystem Services: Backgrounder , The Ecosystem Marketplace

Category:Ecology
Category:Green politics