How to preserve the benefits we receive from nature

We rely on so many things that come from nature such as air, sunshine, water and food. As well as natural goods like seafood and crops, other things relating to the environment also benefit humans such as spending time at a park, protection from flooding and even regulation of temperature.

There are many things in nature which provide benefits to human beings. These natural resources are called Ecosystem Services.

But what if that supply stopped? These services are under threat due to  growing human population and an increase in demand along with an unsustainable way that we use these services.

Ecosystem services are essential to human well-being and there is no consistent method so far to tell if these resources are at the risk of being lost or permanently destroyed.

But what if there was a way to a consistently categorize the extent to which the ecosystem services are threatened?

An international team from the University of Queensland’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences have developed a framework to identify the services that are under threat of being undersupplied or being permanently lost. This framework helps to identify services for which more sustainable use can be developed and helps to start planning for other alternatives if an ecosystem service is lost completely.

The ecosystem framework analyses and provides information on the trends in supply and demand of the ecosystem services and the things that affect them, with reference to two critical thresholds – demand exceeding supply and extinction of the ecosystem service.

One such example is the supply of fish by a fishery. Even though the fishery manages demand now, as local human population grows this service will be under threat due to excessive demand.

The scientists also pointed out to the loss of vegetation as an example, which is seen in cities as people continue to develop flood-prone areas while clearing away vegetation and building on upstream slopes. This makes these areas more prone to flooding which otherwise would have been protected by vegetation.

This framework will provide a basis for global, national and regional assessments of the threats to ecosystem services and accompany existing assessments of threats to species and ecosystems.

Ecosystems services or the benefits that we derive from nature have been a focus for many researchers and scientists for the past few years over growing concern regarding their supply and their sustainability.

This framework gives us the opportunity to understand how we are using nature and wasting resources and what we can do about it.

Source: Trends in Ecology and Evolution