The services of ecological systems and the natural capital stocks that produce them are critical to the functioning of the Earth's life-support system. They contribute to human welfare, both directly and indirectly, and therefore represent part of the total economic value of the planet. We have estimated the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes, based on published studies and a few original calculations. For the entire biosphere, the value (most of which is outside the market) is estimated to be in the range of US$16-54 trillion (10^(12)) per year, with an average of US$33 trillion per year. Because of the nature of the uncertainties, this must be considered a minimum estimate. Global gross national product total is around US$18 trillion per year.

https://www.esd.ornl.gov/benefits_conference/nature_paper.pdf

The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital

Humans are altering the composition of biological communities through a variety of activities that increase rates of species invasions and species extinctions, at all scales, from local to global. These changes in components of the Earth's biodiversity cause concern for ethical and aesthetic reasons, but they also have a strong potential to alter ecosystem properties and the goods and services they provide to humanity. Ecological experiments, observations, and theoretical developments show that ecosystem properties depend greatly on biodiversity in terms of the functional characteristics of organisms present in the ecosystem and the distribution and abundance of those organisms over space and time. Species effects act in concert with the effects of climate, resource availability, and disturbance regimes in influencing ecosystem properties. Human activities can modify all of the above factors; here we focus on modification of these biotic controls. The scientific community has come to a broad consensus on many aspects of the re- lationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, including many points relevant to management of ecosystems. Further progress will require integration of knowledge about biotic and abiotic controls on ecosystem properties, how ecological communities are struc- tured, and the forces driving species extinctions and invasions. To strengthen links to policy and management, we also need to integrate our ecological knowledge with understanding of the social and economic constraints of potential management practices. Understanding this complexity, while taking strong steps to minimize current losses of species, is necessary for responsible management of Earth's ecosystems and the diverse biota they contain.

/pdf/effects-of-biodiversity-on-ecosystem-functioning-a-consensus-13j8vabcus.pdf

Effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: a consensus of current knowledge

Freshwater biodiversity is the over-riding conservation priority during the International Decade for Action - 'Water for Life' - 2005 to 2015. Fresh water makes up only 0.01% of the World's water and approximately 0.8% of the Earth's surface, yet this tiny fraction of global water supports at least 100000 species out of approximately 1.8 million - almost 6% of all described species. Inland waters and freshwater biodiversity constitute a valuable natural resource, in economic, cultural, aesthetic, scientific and educational terms. Their conservation and management are critical to the interests of all humans, nations and governments. Yet this precious heritage is in crisis. Fresh waters are experiencing declines in biodiversity far greater than those in the most affected terrestrial ecosystems, and if trends in human demands for water remain unaltered and species losses continue at current rates, the opportunity to conserve much of the remaining biodiversity in fresh water will vanish before the 'Water for Life' decade ends in 2015. Why is this so, and what is being done about it? This article explores the special features of freshwater habitats and the biodiversity they support that makes them especially vulnerable to human activities. We document threats to global freshwater biodiversity under five headings: overexploitation; water pollution; flow modification; destruction or degradation of habitat; and invasion by exotic species. Their combined and interacting influences have resulted in population declines and range reduction of freshwater biodiversity worldwide. Conservation of biodiversity is complicated by the landscape position of rivers and wetlands as 'receivers' of land-use effluents, and the problems posed by endemism and thus non-substitutability. In addition, in many parts of the world, fresh water is subject to severe competition among multiple human stakeholders. Protection of freshwater biodiversity is perhaps the ultimate conservation challenge because it is influenced by the upstream drainage network, the surrounding land, the riparian zone, and - in the case of migrating aquatic fauna - downstream reaches. Such prerequisites are hardly ever met. Immediate action is needed where opportunities exist to set aside intact lake and river ecosystems within large protected areas. For most of the global land surface, trade-offs between conservation of freshwater biodiversity and human use of ecosystem goods and services are necessary. We advocate continuing attempts to check species loss but, in many situations, urge adoption of a compromise position of management for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem functioning and resilience, and human livelihoods in order to provide a viable long-term basis for freshwater conservation. Recognition of this need will require adoption of a new paradigm for biodiversity protection and freshwater ecosystem management - one that has been appropriately termed 'reconciliation ecology'.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/96AA265E3D88C95FB802E7A73CCB4332/S1464793105006950a.pdf/div-class-title-freshwater-biodiversity-importance-threats-status-and-conservation-challenges-div.pdf

Freshwater biodiversity: importance, threats, status and conservation challenges

In 1974 an article appeared in Science magazine with the dry-sounding title “Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases” by a pair of psychologists who were not well known outside their discipline of decision theory. In it Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman introduced the world to Prospect Theory, which mapped out how humans actually behave when faced with decisions about gains and losses, in contrast to how economists assumed that people behave. Prospect Theory turned Economics on its head by demonstrating through a series of ingenious experiments that people are much more concerned with losses than they are with gains, and that framing a choice from one perspective or the other will result in decisions that are exactly the opposite of each other, even if the outcomes are monetarily the same. Prospect Theory led cognitive psychology in a new direction that began to uncover other human biases in thinking that are probably not learned but are part of our brain’s wiring.

Thinking fast and slow.

http://portal.nceas.ucsb.edu/working_group/ebm-matrix/pdf-reprints/de%20Groot_2002.pdf/attachment_download/file

A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services

We model the use of public transit to reach grocery stores and the use of online delivery services to get groceries, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among people who used transit regularly prior to the crisis.We draw upon a panel survey of pre-pandemic transit riders in Vancouver and Toronto. We conduct multivariable two-step tobit regression models that predict the likelihood of a respondent using transit as their primary mode for getting groceries before the pandemic (step 1) and then during the pandemic (step 2). Models are conducted for two survey waves, May 2020 and March 2021. We also conduct zero-inflated negative binomial regression models predicting the frequency respondents ordered groceries online.Transit riders over the age of 64 were more likely to use transit to reach groceries before the pandemic and more likely to continue to do so during the pandemic (wave 1, OR, 1.63; CI, 1.24-2.14; wave 2, OR, 1.35; CI, 1.03-1.76). Essential workers were more likely to continue using transit to reach groceries during the pandemic (wave 1, OR, 1.33; CI, 1.24-1.43; wave 2, OR, 1.18; CI, 1.06-1.32). Walking distance to the nearest grocery store was positively associated with using transit to get groceries pre-pandemic (wave 1, OR, 1.02; CI, 1.01-1.03; wave 2, OR, 1.02; CI, 1.01-1.03), and in May 2020 (wave 1, OR 1.01; (1.00-1.02). During the pandemic, people who stopped using transit to get groceries were less likely to have made zero online grocery purchases (wave 1, OR, 0.56; CI, 0.41-0.75; wave 2, OR, 0.62; CI, 0.41-0.94).People still physically commuting to work were more likely to still use transit to get groceries. Among transit riders, older adults and those living far walking distances from grocery stores are more likely to use transit to get groceries. Older transit riders and those with higher incomes were also more likely to use grocery delivery services, while female, Black, and immigrant riders were less likely to do so. 

Getting groceries during the pandemic: How transit remained important despite the rise of e-delivery

To identify predictors of transportation-related barriers to healthcare access in a North American suburb.Data from the 2022 Scarborough Survey were used, comprising n = 528 adults living in Scarborough, which is a subu<rb of Toronto, Canada, recruited through iterative sampling. Log binomial regression models identified demographic, socioeconomic, health and transportation predictors of a composite of: (1) delaying a primary care appointment, (2) missing a primary care appointment or (3) postponing or declining a vaccination due to transportation issues.Of the sampled individuals, 34.5% experienced the outcome. In the multivariable model, younger age (RR = 3.03), disability (RR = 2.60), poor mental health (RR = 1.70) and reliance on public transit (RR = 2.09) were associated with greater risk of experiencing the outcome. Full-time employment, reliance on active travel and reliance on others for transportation were specifically associated with greater risk of experiencing a transportation-related barrier to vaccination.In suburban areas such as Scarborough, transportation-related barriers to healthcare access have a disproportionate impact on groups defined by important demographic, health and transportation-related characteristics. These results corroborate that transportation is an important determinant of health in suburban areas, the absence of which may exacerbate existing inequities among the most vulnerable individuals in a given population. 

/pdf/predictors-of-transportation-related-barriers-to-healthcare-ljjsgiph.pdf

Predictors of transportation-related barriers to healthcare access in a North American suburb

Are low-income residents disproportionately moving away from transit?

Socioeconomic and place-based factors contribute to grocery shopping patterns which may be important for diet and health. Big data provide the opportunity to explore behaviours at the population level. We used data collected from Flipp, a free all-in-one savings and deals content app, to identify visitation to grocery stores and estimate home-to-store distances, monthly frequencies and number of unique stores visited in eight Canadian cities during 2020. Grocery shopping outcomes and associations with income, population density and percentage of car commuters were explored using data aggregated at the Aggregate Dissemination Area level in which app users lived. Changes in patterns of grocery shopping following restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were also investigated. The median of average home-to-store distances ranged from 4 to 5 km across all cities throughout 2020. Shorter distances for grocery shopping were shown consistently for shoppers living in lower income, densely populated and low car-commuting ADAs. A maximum of three unique supermarkets were visited on average each month. Decreases in the frequency and variability of grocery store visits were shown across all cities in April 2020 following the implementation of restrictions in response to COVID-19, and pre-pandemic levels of shopping were rarely achieved by the end of the year. Ultimately, these results provide much needed information regarding the characteristics of grocery shopping trips in a high-income country, as well as how food shopping was impacted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This information will be useful for a range of future studies seeking to characterise access to food retail.

https://doi.org/10.1177/23998083221129272

Stephen Farber

Papers

Getting groceries during the pandemic: How transit remained important despite the rise of e-delivery

Predictors of transportation-related barriers to healthcare access in a North American suburb

Are low-income residents disproportionately moving away from transit?

Geographies of grocery shopping in major Canadian cities: Evidence from large-scale mobile app data