importance of the ecosystem
The National Wildlife Federation believes that Americans should be working together to protect wildlife and wild places for their own sake. Wildlife is important to the heritage, culture and heart of America and we want to preserve it as a legacy for our children.
Although you cannot put a value on all the ways that the natural world enriches our lives, there are many tangible benefits to living in a world with strong and healthy ecosystems. We have a stronger economy, diverse food products and advancements in medical research all as a result of wildlife and natural ecosystems.
Chipmunk with acorn in its mouth
What Does Wildlife Do For Us?
The value of nature to people has long been recognized, but in recent years, the concept of ecosystem services has been developed to describe these various benefits.
An ecosystem service is any positive benefit that wildlife or ecosystems provides to people. The benefits can be direct or indirect – small or large.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), a major UN sponsored effort to analyze the impact of human actions on ecosystems and human well-being, identified four major categories of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services.
Types of Ecosystem Services
PROVISIONING SERVICES
When people are asked to identify a service provided by nature, most think of food. Fruits, vegetables, trees, fish and livestock are available to us as direct products of ecosystems. A provisioning service is any type of benefit to people that can be extracted from nature.
Along with food, other types of provisioning services include:
Drinking water
Timber
Wood fuel, natural gas and oils
Plants that can be made into clothes and other materials
Medicinal benefits
Kayaking through mangroves
REGULATING SERVICES
Ecosystems provide many of the basic services that make life possible for people. Plants clean air and filter water, bacteria decompose wastes, bees pollinate flowers and tree
Although you cannot put a value on all the ways that the natural world enriches our lives, there are many tangible benefits to living in a world with strong and healthy ecosystems. We have a stronger economy, diverse food products and advancements in medical research all as a result of wildlife and natural ecosystems.
Chipmunk with acorn in its mouth
What Does Wildlife Do For Us?
The value of nature to people has long been recognized, but in recent years, the concept of ecosystem services has been developed to describe these various benefits.
An ecosystem service is any positive benefit that wildlife or ecosystems provides to people. The benefits can be direct or indirect – small or large.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), a major UN sponsored effort to analyze the impact of human actions on ecosystems and human well-being, identified four major categories of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services.
Types of Ecosystem Services
PROVISIONING SERVICES
When people are asked to identify a service provided by nature, most think of food. Fruits, vegetables, trees, fish and livestock are available to us as direct products of ecosystems. A provisioning service is any type of benefit to people that can be extracted from nature.
Along with food, other types of provisioning services include:
Drinking water
Timber
Wood fuel, natural gas and oils
Plants that can be made into clothes and other materials
Medicinal benefits
Kayaking through mangroves
REGULATING SERVICES
Ecosystems provide many of the basic services that make life possible for people. Plants clean air and filter water, bacteria decompose wastes, bees pollinate flowers and tree