Ecosystem services

Water for life and livelihoods, River basin management plans, Glossary, Published by the Environment Agency in 2016, defines ecosystem services as: ‘The services that people receive from nature; a service that the natural environment provides that improves people's quality of life. Ecosystem services can be tangible such as increased fish populations for fishing, improved water availability during drought or more subtle such as pollination of crops and natural flood regulation.’

Culvert, screen and outfall manual, (CIRIA C786) published by CIRIA in 2019, defines ecosystem services as: ‘The many and varied benefits that humans freely gain from the natural environment and from properly-functioning ecosystems. Such ecosystems include, for example, agroecosystems, forest ecosystems, grassland ecosystems and aquatic ecosystems.’

North Ayrshire Local Biodiversity Action Plan, 2019-2031, published by North Ayrshire Council, defines ecosystem services as: “Benefits people obtain from ecosystems. These include provisioning services such as food and water; regulating services such as regulation of floods, drought, land degradation, and disease; supporting services such as soil formation and nutrient cycling; and cultural services such as recreational, spiritual, religious and other non-material benefits.”

The exploitation of the Earth’s natural resources is one of the five main drivers of the destruction of biodiversity, according to the Summary for policymakers of the thematic assessment of the sustainable use of wild species of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), published on July 8, 2022. The report also considered the future use of wild species and found that climate change, increasing demand and the improving efficiency of extractive technologies pose a significant challenge.

Dr Marla Emery, who co-chaired the assessment carried out by what some refer to as “the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] for biodiversity” said: “Half of humanity uses and benefits from the use of wild species. Their sustainability is essential for biodiversity conservation, and for human wellbeing.

The 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) will be held in Kunming, China and Montreal, Canada in October and December.

[edit] External Links

• https://www.unep.org/events/conference/un-biodiversity-conference-cop-15
• Summary for policymakers of the thematic assessment of the sustainable use of wild species of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

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