Why should EPA Focus on Ecosystem Services?
Earth´s ecosystems provide the underlying foundation for all human systems. Products and processes of nature supply materials for economic development, food, clothing, medicines, even the air we breathe and water we drink, all essential to the well being of individuals, families and societies. While we each may appreciate nature, it is often easy to overlook how our personal choices, which we enjoy and value, can also degrade and destroy the ecosystems and their services that sustain us. Ecosystem services have been taken for granted, are generally considered “free” and limitless. When human populations were low, and our activities were within the bounds of natural recovery processes, this was true. It is no longer. As a nation and members of the global human family, we need a new way of operating, a new perspective that incorporates a full understanding of the finite nature of ecosystems and their benefits to us. EPA´s mandate to protect human health and the environment requires that
