Ecosystem Functions, Services and Valuation

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Ecosystem Functions, Services and Valuation

• 27 February 2006

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Name That City

• Rapid population growth, population doubling
  every 20 years.
• Severe water shortages, fires burn out of control
  because of low water pressure in hydrants.
• Frequent outbreaks of cholera and other diseases
  due to contaminated water recent cholera
  outbreak killed nearly 2 of the citys
  population.
• Most wells are polluted and becoming brackish
  (salty) because of saltwater intrusion.

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New York City, circa 1832
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Forests and Farm in the Catskill Region
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Forested Wetland Ecosystem
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Sprawl Development in the Catskills
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Land Conversion and Impervious Surfaces
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Biosphere II Project
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Lessons Learned

• Ecosystem services are often worth billions of
  dollars, and often dwarf the value of alternative
  development uses.
• We often dont miss ecosystem services until they
  are gone or threatened because we take them for
  granted (we dont have to pay).
• Ecosystem services often benefit users who are
  distant from the source the capture problem.
• Loss of ecosystems and species is not just about
  loss of cute animals. Habitat destruction and
  conversion directly affects human quality of life
  NATURE DOES NOT NEED US, BUT WE NEED IT!