Journal ArticleDOI
The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital
Robert Costanza,Rudolf de Groot,Stephen Farberk,Monica Grasso,Bruce Hannon,Karin E. Limburg,Shahid Naeem,José M. Paruelo,Robert Raskin,Paul Suttonkk,Marjan van den Belt +10 more
TLDR
In this paper, the authors 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.Abstract:
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.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
From land cover change to land function dynamics: a major challenge to improve land characterization
TL;DR: It is argued that more attention should be given to land use and land functions and linkages between these, and new methods to map and quantify land function dynamics will enhance the ability to understand and model land system change and adequately inform policies and planning.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Ecosystem Services Framework and Natural Capital Conservation
RK Turner,Gretchen C. Daily +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the concepts underpinning the ecosystem services framework (ESF), laying out the scope and limitations of the approach, and describe the major challenges in making the ESF operational: detailed information at scales relevant to decision-making; practical know-how in the process of institutional design & implementation; and compelling models of success in which economic incentives are aligned with conservation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Phytoplankton primary production in the world's estuarine-coastal ecosystems
TL;DR: This work synthesizes published rates of annual phytoplankton primary production in marine ecosystems influenced by connectivity to land - estuaries, bays, lagoons, fjords and inland seas to integrate data into a unifying model to explain the wide range of variabil- ity across ecosystems and to project responses of APPP to regional manifestations of global change as it continues to unfold.
Journal ArticleDOI
Seagrass sediments as a global carbon sink: Isotopic constraints
Hilary Kennedy,Jeff Beggins,Carlos M. Duarte,James W. Fourqurean,Marianne Holmer,Núria Marbà,Jack J. Middelburg +6 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provided a comprehensivesynthesis of available data to obtain a better understanding of the relative contribution of seagrass and other possible sources of organic matter that accumulate in the sediment of the seafloor seagranthus meadows.
Journal ArticleDOI
Impacts of climate change on marine organisms and ecosystems.
TL;DR: Present-day climate change is described, setting it in context with historical change, consequences of climate change for marine biological processes now and in to the future are considered, and contributions that marine systems could play in mitigating the impacts of global climate change are discussed.
References
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Book
Using surveys to value public goods : the contingent valuation method
TL;DR: Mitchell and Carson as discussed by the authors argue that at this time the contingent valuation (CV) method offers the most promising approach for determining public willingness to pay for many public goods, an approach likely to succeed, if used carefully, where other methods may fail.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nature's services: societal dependence on natural ecosystems.
TL;DR: Nature's Services brings together world-renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines to examine the character and value of ecosystem services, the damage that has been done to them, and the consequent implications for human society.
Book
For The Common Good: Redirecting The Economy Towards Community, The Environment And A Sustainable Future
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the scale of human activity in the biosphere has grown too large and that change is needed in the approach to economic activity: "correction and expansion a more empirical and historical attitude less pretense on being science and willingness to subordinate the market to purposes that it is not geared to determine."
Journal ArticleDOI
Primary production required to sustain global fisheries
Daniel Pauly,Villy Christensen +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the mean of reported annual world fisheries catches for 1988-1991 (94.3 million t) was split into 39 species groups, to which fractional trophic levels, ranging from 1.0 (edible algae) to 4.2 (tunas), were assigned, based on 48 published Trophic models, providing a global coverage of six major aquatic ecosystem types.
Journal ArticleDOI
Natural Capital and Sustainable Development
Robert Costanza,Herman E. Daly +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a minimum necessary condition for sustainability is the maintenance of the total natural capital stock at or above the current level, to be relaxed only when solid evidence can be offered that it is safe to do so.