Maria Jose Andrade leads a discussion on the value of ecosystems services

1. María José Andrade-Núñez
Coastal Environment Class

2. Article structure
• Introduction
Ojective: Illustrate the current state of identifying, assessing, and
valuing the key ecosystem services of ECEs.
What is the current state of the progress in integrating knowledge about the
“ecological production function” underlying each important ECE service with economic
methods to value changes in this service in terms of impacts on human welfare?
Methods: Assessing ECE services and values
Results: The key services and values of ECEs
-Coral Reefs
-Seagrass beds
-Salt marshes
-Mangroves
-Sand beaches and dunes
Discussion: Issues for future research
Conclusion: Toward a management Action Plan

4. Introduction
• Millenium Ecosystem Assessment
(http://www.maweb.org/en/index.aspx)
• TheMillennium Ecosystem Assessment, released in 2005, is an international
synthesis by over 1000 of the world's leading biological scientists that analyzes
the state of the Earth’s ecosystems and provides summaries and guidelines for
decision-makers.
Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems
- Goods (e.g. products obtain from ecosystems such as water, genetic material),
services (e.g. water purification, tourism), and cultural benefits (e.g. spirtitual
benefits)
- The economic benefit provided by an enviromental good or service is the sum of
what all members of society would be willing to pay for it.

5. Key points:
• Very few ECE services are marketed
• Existence of lot of unreliable valuation estimates
• Three steps to nonmarket valuation method:
A) ECOSYSTEM PROCESSESS, STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONS
1) Evaluate how Changes in A affect B
B) ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
2) Evaluate how
changes in B affect C
C) Human well being 3) ECONOMIC VALUATION
of changes in C

6. Introduction
STEPS IN THE VALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES

7. ECONOMIC VALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES

8. FIRST TOPIC OF DISCUSSION
In the article the authors mention an existing debate about
characterizing all ecosystems as end-products of nature.
• Is it better to define in detail the economic benefit of an
ecosystem or it is better to have a broader idea of it?
• Why it is not possible to extrapolate local estimates of economic
values of Ecosystem services to other places or globally?

9. SECOND TOPIC OF DISCUSSION
In the conclusion the authors recommend some actions
to protect and/or enhance the ECE service:
1) More interdisciplinary studies (economists, ecologists, env.
scientists)
2) Stop viewing destruction of ECEs as COSTLESS. Human activites
in ECEs must be banned, monitored, and regulated.
3) Establish a institutional framework to allow ecosystem co-
management by goverment and local communities.
4) Ecological restoration.
How do you feel about these actions? Are they possible solutions?
Does the authors give enough information about them?