Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Sustaining industrial activity and
ecological quality: the potential role
of an ecosystem services approach
LORRAINE MALTBY, ACHIM PAETZOLD AND
PHILIP WARREN
Introduction
Modern societies benefit greatly from the products of industry and ecosystems
provide the raw materials and energy required to produce them. Societies also
benefit from a wide range of other ecosystem services including the supply of
food, fuel, fibre and water, the regulation of disease and climate, recreational
opportunities and aesthetic enjoyment. However, there is a potential conflict
between these two types of benefits as increased industrialisation is often
associated with increased release of hazardous chemicals or habitat modifica-
tion, which have the potential to degrade ecosystem services, including those
required for continued industrial production and development.
Here we consider the relationship between industrialisation and environ-
mental impact using the development of Sheffield's metal industries as a case
study. We then go on to explore the broader question of ecological quality and
how it is defined, before outlining a quality assessment framework based on
ecosystem services that may provide a tool for managing ecosystems for the
optimal delivery of services. Finally, we consider the global aspects of economic
development, industrialisation and environmental degradation.
Environmental impacts of industry: Sheffield metal industries
and the River Don
Sheffield is synonymous with steel and metal has been worked here since at
least the Middle Ages. Early metal workers capitalised on the environmental
resources provided by the region: fast flowing rivers for water power, oak
woodlands for charcoal, iron ore for smelting and grit stone for grinding. Later
the locally abundant coal became an important source of power. The invention
