Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
CONSTITUENTS OF WELL-BEING
Security
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
PERSONAL SAFETY
SECURE RESOURCE
ACCESS
SECURITY FROM
DISASTERS
Provisioning
FOOD
FRESH WATER
WOOD AND FIBER
FUEL
...
Basic material
for good life
Freedom
of choice
and action
ADEQUATE LIVELIHOODS
SUFFICIENT NUTRITIOUS
FOOD
Regulating
CLIMATE REGULATION
FLOOD REGULATION
DISEASE REGULATION
WATER PURIFICATION
...
Supporting
NUTRIENT CYCLING
SOIL FORMATION
PRIMARY
PRODUCTION
...
OPPORTUNITY TO
BE ABLE TO
ACHIEVE
WHAT AN
INDIVIDUAL
VALUES DOING
AND BEING
SHELTER
ACCESS TO GOODS
Health
STRENGTH
FEELING WELL
ACCESS TO CLEAN AIR
AND WATER
Cultural
AESTHETIC
SPIRITUAL
EDUCATIONAL
RECREATIONAL
...
Good social relations
SOCIAL COHESION
MUTUAL RESPECT
ABILITY TO HELP OTHERS
LIFE ON EARTH - BIODIVERSITY
Figure 6.1
This figure depicts the strength of linkages between categories of ecosystem services and
components of human well-being, and includes indications of the extent to which it is possible for socio-
economic factors to mediate the linkage. For example, if it is possible to purchase a substitute for a
degraded ecosystem service, then there is a high potential for mediation. The strength of the linkages
(represented by width of arrows) and the potential for mediation differ in different ecosystems and
regions. In addition to the influence of ecosystem services on human well-being depicted here, other
factors—including other environmental factors as well as economic, social, technological, and cultural
factors—influence human well-being, and ecosystems are in turn affected by changes in human well-
being. Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA 2005).
current trajectory is unsustainable and it is likely that critical thresholds have been crossed;
over 84% of forest area has been cleared, erosion and flood damage is increasing, while pollu-
tion from fertilizers, pesticides, and industrial effluents is eroding water quality. More than
300 million people depend on the food, water, and erosion-regulation provided by the basin,
but, despite improved environmental regulation and reforestation programmes since the
1980s, to date, only a few, high-income areas are experiencing environmental improvement.
The study highlights the urgent need for restoration efforts that will rebuild ecological resili-
ence and restore ecosystem services (Dearing et al. 2012).
Maintaining and restoring ecosystem services is essential to meeting the needs of current
and future generations. A long-term perspective allows the impacts of anthropogenic man-
agement and environmental change to be evaluated and contributes to our understanding of
how natural disturbance regimes, temporal variability and spatial heterogeneity contribute
to resilience, providing the basis for adaptive capacity over a range of temporal and spatial
scales (see Chapters 3-5). Here we will explore the use of long-term data in the management
of water, soils, and biodiversity, and in the understanding and preservation of cultural eco-
system services.
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