Ecological services

Everyone in the world depends on Earth’s ecosystems and the services they provide. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a four-year international research programme bringing together more than 1,300 scientists and other experts, identified 24 services of direct or indirect benefit to human well-being, each of these provided by the interactions of biological organisms and the physical environment. These services touch every aspect of our lives. And underpinning all of these services is biodiversity.

Biodiversity and ecosystems play important roles in food production, soil formation, climate and disease regulation and regulation and purification of water resources. Biodiversity also underpins a wide range of support functions such as nutrient regulation and circulation. It provides the genetic resources that are the basis of agricultural development and the source of many of our medicines, 75% of which are derived from plants, animals and microbiotic organisms.

We derive spiritual fulfilment and aesthetic enjoyment from nature and biodiversity. This matters greatly for our social and cognitive development – and thus has economic implications. Studies have shown that where green areas are available locally in cities, social cohesion amongst citizens tends to be higher and crime rates lower. Children who have access to nature are likely to develop significant higher learning abilities than children who do not. Nature stirs our creativity and has been a major source of inspiration for new inventions such as, for example, sonar equipment and airplanes. While all humans depend on nature’s services worldwide, some are more affected by their decline than others. For example many poor people in developing countries who must survive on only a few euros per day catch fish to gain income and to enhance their diet with proteins. Others cannot afford a doctor and make use of the healing properties of herbs – they need nature’s pharmacy, come what may.

Human Well-being

These ecological services and support functions ensure that human populations around the world can live secure and healthy lives with few environmental disasters threatening their existence. However, with the modifications we have made to many of our ecosystems, we are beginning to realise that the security that was previously provided by the environment is disappearing. Coastal cities and cultural landscapes formed on former river catchments are flooded more often.

Agricultural land developed on converted forest areas is losing its water retention capacities and nutrient content – and it is being abandoned to become steppe and semi-desert landscapes. Insects, that are essential for the pollination of our crops and fruit trees, are declining in numbers or – in the case of bees in North America – disappearing mysteriously.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment concluded that the decline of ecosystem functions poses a significant barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals that relate to the reduction of poverty, hunger and disease. Addressing the causes of biodiversity loss is therefore essential if future generations are to live in a world with less human suffering.

Next chapter: What destroys Biodiversity?

Services provided by the environment

Security

Wave breaker: Coastal forests in South East Asia, for instance, ward off the wind and waves brought by the annual typhoons. Those stretches of the coast that had mangrove forests emerged from the December 2004 tsunami with much less damage.

Rainwater-purification plant: Inland wetlands are vital for storing fresh water, helping to ensure its constant supply, and for removing nutrients and other pollutants. In the case of New York City, this service is provided by forests in the Catskill Mountains more than 150 kilometres away. Establishing protective zones in the mountains has proven to be far more cost-effective than building and operating a new water treatment plant in the city.

Basic Material for a good life

Food factory: At present, the ocean provides us with about 90 million tonnes of fish annually. Managed in the right way, we could catch fish perpetually. In Europe, it is estimated that of the about 1,300 endemic plants that are used commercially, 90% or 20,000-30,000 tonnes are collected in the wild every year and are worth billions of Euros. Commercially, at least 55 million tonnes of apples were grown worldwide in 2005, with a value of about $10 billion.

Furniture warehouse: Our environment provides raw material for a wide range of goods. Thus a tree can provide sustainable building materials; it can become a roof, a cherished wooden floor, a piano or a flute, a treasured board game, a table or a chair – and many, many other things.

Health

Pharmacy: A tree can be a pharmacy in many ways. For example the green-brown pygeum (Prunus africana) bark has as a medicinal plant global importance. Its bark produces active substances that are used as treatment for benign Prostate Hypertrophy, a common illness in western countries.

Air conditioning system: Planting trees in cities provides shade and increases the evaporation of water. This cools the microclimate and can reduce the costs of artificial air conditioning by up to 30%.

Carbon storage system: Trees and tree groves, as well as our oceans, are excellent carbon sinks in that they absorb the carbon dioxide from the air and replenish the air with oxygen. Soils and peatlands equally sequestrate significant amounts of CO2.

Sunshade: Trees are an integral part of many traditional agroforestry systems. Here they provide shade for crops, animals and humans, create a favourable microclimate and supply feed for livestock and natural fertiliser for the crops (mulching).

Destination for an outing: Forest and other recreational areas are important for our well-being, development and social relations. Most people derive a sense of calm and tranquillity from spending time in nature. Indeed, studies indicate that people who access nature frequently are less stressed and less often ill than people who do not.

Good social relations

Symbol of creation: Nature has inspired and continues to inspire us to create new inventions. For example, Velcro, an everyday commodity used by most of us, was created on the basis of a close examination of a few burrs that had stuck to a dog’s coat. And currently, photosynthetic bacteria are inspiring scientists to invent a new and more efficient type of solar cells.

Textbook: Nature serves as a big – and fun – educational centre for young and old. Children explore the mysteries of life in nature, learn about edible plants and fruits and develop their cognitive functions. But also professionals such as architects spend years of their formal education studying organic life forms to serve as inspiration for developing our cities.

Work of Art: A high proportion of works of art such as sculptures, buildings, photography and paintings have been inspired by nature or by human interaction with nature. Holy places – for example in form of a “tree of life” – are common in many world religions.