Ecosystem Services
The benefits people obtain from ecosystems.
What are ecosystem services worth? |
Ecosystem services can be cut off |
It is impossible to attach a dollar amount to the value of nature, and ecosystem services seem to be "free" to us. But for some people to see the benefit of ecosystems, we have to estimate what the dollar value is for the services ecosystems provide and the costs of losing these services. Sometimes this is the only way to convince people that ecosystems are worth saving.
Click here to see some examples of the value of ecosystem services. Wetlands & MangrovesExamples:
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Unfortunately, we can take ecosystems for granted and can cause a lot of damage to the natural ability for the ecosystem to survive. This has the effect of cutting off ecosystem services for us. Negative human impact, such as habitat degradation and climate change, are just two ways in which humans are cutting off valuable services. Others include:
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