[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/EW-03-23-12-Ecosystem-Services.mp3|titles=EW 03-23-12 Ecosystem Services]
Briefly, ecosystem services are things that nature does for us that have a real dollar value. Some, such as providing food and timber, are obvious. When queuing up at our local supermarket or bookstore, the goods we are buying are products of agriculture and forestry.
Some ecosystem services derive from the recreation that we take in nature. Consider a Saturday afternoon hike with your family. Chances are good that the park you visit is paid for by tax dollars.
Other ecosystem services are so subtle they are taken for granted. For instance, forests clean our air by removing pollutants such as nitric oxide and ozone. In their absence, air would be dirtier and asthma rates would increase. But what is this ecosystem service worth? One valuation method would be to look at the cost of treating additional cases of asthma if forests were cut.
An international team of economists and environmental scientists estimated the total value of Earth’s ecosystem services at $33 trillion each year—essentially equivalent to the world’s total human economic activity.
Unfortunately, nature’s services are often unaccounted for when we make decisions to modify the landscape. About half of the wetlands in North America have been destroyed without regard to their role in cleansing our water supplies and buffering floodwaters.
Next time you hear about the economic advantages of development in your community, ask if the loss of ecosystem services has been included in the calculation.
Photo, taken on May 23, 2010 using a Canon PowerShot SD780 IS, courtesy of Jeff Hester via Flickr.