Why is the Ecosystem Services Research Program focus important?
Humans are permanently changing ecosystem services at local, regional, and global scales, and we can expect pressures on natural systems to continue to intensify with expanding human populations. The Program will include research to describe ecosystem quality and value, the risks associated with their loss, and the relative impacts of human action on the services nature provides. This is a critical need. Ecosystem services are rarely considered during environmental decision-making, principally because they are not well identified, quantified, or considered in ways applicable to commerce. The Program research results will enable economists, social scientists, environmental managers and others to incorporate an enhanced understanding of value and risk when making decisions about the costs and benefits of using and protecting ecosystem services. To ensure sustainable human and natural systems, the full long term value of ecosystem services must be considered when making decisions.
