The 2022 International

Summer Course for

Agriculture and Ecosystem
Resilience to
Environmental Disaster
toward Regional
Sustainability

September 15, 2022

https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/ecosystem-
services-word-concepts-banner-vector-29160650
Outline
 An ecosystem includes all of the plants,
animals, microbes, soil, air and water within a
physical space and the interactions between
them. Humans are an integral part of marine,
freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems.

https://in.pinterest.com/pin/753578950133244734/

The linkages within and between

ecosystems arise from biological
interactions (for example, seabirds hunting
for marine fish to feed their offspring) and
physical processes (for example, sediments https://reefresilience.org/wp-content/uploads/EBMguide_2010.pdf

transported downstream by river

networks). Ecosystem Types: A
review
Ecosystem services is Ecosystem services, Ecosystem services,
that they are the Ecosystem services which refers to a wide outputs, conditions, or
conditions and are the direct and range of conditions processes of natural
processes by which indirect contributions systems that directly or
and processes through
all ecosystems, and indirectly benefit
of ecosystems to which natural
the species and other humans or enhance
parts that make up human wellbeing. ecosystems, and the
species that are part social welfare.
ecosystems, sustain https://www.earthwiseaware.org/what-are- https://www.britannica.com/science/
and fulfill human life. ecosystem-services/ of them, help sustain ecosystem-services
http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/units/env205/
module1/eco.html
and fulfill human life.
Daily, G. C., et al.

With the knowledge of the ecosystem services, a better

understanding of the relationship between humans and their
environment (i.e. our dependence on ecosystems, particularly
natural ecosystems) can be facilitated, and ultimately be able to
manage our natural resources more sustainably.
Ecosystem Services: Concepts and
Relevance
Ecosystem
Services
vis-à-vis
Ecosystems
Ecosystems
services from
Watersheds

https://haribon.org.ph/support-our-
work/rainforestation/watersheds-
and-ridge-to-reef/
 Natural capital can be
considered as a stock from
which ecosystem services
flow, and the processes of
ecosystems are the
procedures or methods
used to create the flow of
services.
- from where a flow of services
that benefits the well being of
Ecosystem Services are produced by humans into the future.
Transformations of Natural Capital

Natural capital is the stock of all the elements of ecosystems and

provides the raw material for life and for human activities.
- derived from the economics concept that equates the natural capital
of ecosystems with the highly valued capital of economic systems
 …relevance 


Humans rely on ecosystem services.
Ecosystems provide these services when they are working well.
• As the concept of ES is  Most ecosystem services are greatly undervalued by society
anthropocentric and because they are considered "free" and inexhaustible, i.e., we
provides a way of don't have formal markets to buy and sell most ES.
understanding how  The lack of awareness of the value of ecosystems helps drive
important ecosystems the conversion of natural ecosystems into other systems that
produce marketable goods (e.g., by clearing a forest to sell the
and the ways they work
timber, converting bushland to cropland) thereby disrupting or
are for supporting life
diminishing the ecosystem processes (e.g., clearing forests
and providing for reduces carbon storage, reduces soil protection from the
human needs, we need erosive impact of rain or overland flow).
to understand how  Current trends suggest that we are in the process of
ecosystems work so dramatically altering our ecosystems and that these changes
that we don’t negatively could have severely detrimental effects on the future provision
affect these processes. of ESS and our quality of life.
 Types of Ecosystem
Services

Categories (UNEP, 2005) and examples of ecosystem services (Daily, 1997; Daily et al., 2000; Malmqvist https://www.earthwiseaware.org/what-are-
and Rundle, 2002; UNEP, 2005), according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment framework. ecosystem-services/
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Categories-UNEP-2005-and-examples-of-ecosystem-services-Daily-
1997-Daily-et-al_fig1_284717721
https://oceanwealth.org/ecosystem-services/
WHAT’S UP?

The United Nations

Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment (2005), which
evaluated the consequences
of ecosystem change,
concluded that humans
have degraded the ability of
Earth’s ecosystems to
support social welfare.

https://reefresilience.org/wp-content/uploads/EBMguide_2010.pdf
 © 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
https://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/BoardStatement.html

that human actions are depleting Earth’s

natural capital, putting such strain on the
environment that the ability of the planet’s
the ecosystems to sustain future generations
Millennium can no longer be taken for granted.
Assessment
Board (MA) Also, the assessment shows that with
findings appropriate actions it is possible to reverse
the degradation of many ecosystem services
over the next 50 years, but the changes in
policy and practice required are substantial
and not currently underway.
■ Everyone in the world depends on nature
and ecosystem services to provide the
conditions for a decent, healthy, and secure
life.

■ Humans have made unprecedented

changes to ecosystems in recent decades to
meet growing demands for food, fresh water,
fiber, and energy.

■ These changes have helped to improve the

lives of billions, but at the same time they
weakened nature’s ability to deliver other
key services such as purification of air and
water, protection from disasters, and the
a Example of an Acacia decurrens plantation, b a plantation on grazing land, c
planting on cultivated land, and d the traditional process of producing fuel
wood (charcoal) from A. decurrens trees in Guder watershed, Ethiopia

provision of medicines. https://ecologicalprocesses.springeropen.com/a

rticles/10.1186/s13717-021-00325-1
■ Among the outstanding
problems identified by this
assessment are the dire
state of many of the
world’s fish stocks; the ■ Human activities have
intense vulnerability of the taken the planet to the
2 billion people living in edge of a massive wave
dry regions to the loss of of species extinctions,
ecosystem services, further threatening our
including water supply; and own well-being.
the growing threat to
ecosystems from climate
change and nutrient
pollution.
 ■ The loss of services derived from ecosystems
is a significant barrier to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals to reduce
poverty, hunger, and disease.

■ The pressures on ecosystems

will increase globally in coming
decades unless human attitudes
and actions change.

https://www.fao.org/in-
action/incentives-for-ecosystem-
services/toolkit/building-an-
incentive-package/step-1/en/
■ Measures to conserve natural resources are more likely to
succeed if local communities are given ownership of them, share the
benefits, and are involved in decisions.
■ Even today’s technology and knowledge can reduce considerably the human
impact on ecosystems. They are unlikely to be deployed fully, however, until
ecosystem services cease to be perceived as free and limitless, and their full
value is taken into account.

■ Better protection of natural

assets will require coordinated efforts across all sections of governments,
businesses, and international institutions. The productivity of ecosystems
depends on policy choices on investment, trade, subsidy, taxation, and
regulation, among others.
 Challenges…
Why the emphasis on the natural
end of the spectrum (Daily, 1997)?

https://www.mountainresearchinitiative.org/news-page-all/128-new-publication/2455-the-ecosystem-
service-scarcity-path-to-forest-recovery-a-local-forest-transition-in-the-ecuadorian-andes
Challenges
…
Based on available scientific evidence, it is
certain that:
• Ecosystem services are essential to
civilization.
• Ecosystem services operate on such a grand
scale and in such intricate and little-explored
ways that most could not
be replaced by technology.
• Human activities are already impairing the
flow of ecosystem services on a large scale.
• If current trends continue, humanity will
dramatically alter virtually all of Earth’s
remaining natural ecosystems within
a few decades.
• Many of the human activities that
modify or destroy natural ecosystems
may cause deterioration of ecological
services whose value, in the long term,
dwarfs the short-term economic
benefits society gains from those
activities.
• Considered globally, very large
numbers of species and populations
are required to sustain ecosystem
services.
• The functioning of many ecosystems
could be restored if appropriate
actions were taken in time.
the ES concept has been increasingly The MEA (2005) categories of
used as a framework for action. CES (including Cultural diversity;
 BUT, important gaps remain and Spiritual and religious values;
the ES concept currently does not Knowledge systems; Educational
do justice to the reality of human- values; Inspiration; Aesthetic
ecosystem interactions values; Social relations; Sense of
place; Cultural heritage values;
Rather than focusing on a unitary regime of and Recreation and ecotourism)
simple utilization, economic valuation, and trade- and similarly emphasized values
offs, this paradigm actively supports the cultivation drawn from, rather than
of diverse cultural and ecosystem values, practices, cultivated in, nature.
and services at the landscape scale. For CES, such  BUT, the complexities of
a paradigm shift is more than a technical process; human-environment
it necessarily involves political recognition and relationships remain
valorization of minority values and strategies. insufficiently addressed.

C. Combertia, *, T.F. Thorntona , V. W de Echeverriaa , & T. Patterson, 2015

Challenges
…
 CES, and ES in general, can be
improved via processes of
what we term “Services to
Ecosystems” (a new
paradigm): ES-S2E loop of
reciprocity enhancing the
values and services provided
by habitats for those
dependent on them, through
cultivation and reciprocal
exchange relations, whilst
maintaining overall ecosystem
health.

A revised framework showing the ES-S2E loop of reciprocity.

Challenges
C. Combertia, *, T.F. Thorntona , V. W de Echeverriaa , & T. Patterson, 2015

…
 to Reduce the Degradation of Ecosystem Services
Ways https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.429.aspx.pdf

Forward CHANGE THE ECONOMIC B ACKGROUND TO

DECISION-MAKING

■ Introduce payments to landowners in return for managing

their lands in ways that protect ecosystem services, such as
water quality and carbon storage, that are of value to society.
https://www.reutersevents.com/susta
https://www.reutersevents.com/susta
inability/essay-valuing-natural-capital
inability/essay-valuing-natural-capital
■ Establish market mechanisms to reduce nutrient releases
and carbon emissions in the most cost-effective way.
 Ways Forward…
IMPROVE POLICY, PLANNING,
AND MANAGEMENT
■ Integrate decision-making between different
departments and sectors, as well as
international institutions, to ensure that policies
are focused on protection of ecosystems.

■ Include sound management of

ecosystem services in all regional
planning decisions and in the poverty
reduction strategies being prepared by
many developing countries.
https://oppla.eu/product/1928
 Ways Forward…

https://www.quora.com/Whose-responsibility-
is-it-to-preserve-the-ecosystem
Ways Forward…
INFLUENCE INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR

https://oppla.eu/product/18880
 DEVELOP AND USE ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGY

■ Invest in agricultural science and ■ Restore degraded

technology aimed at increasing food ecosystems.
production with minimal harmful trade-offs.

■ Promote technologies to increase energy

efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Ways Forward… https://www.britannica.com/science/natural-resource

What shall you do
for the
sustainability of
the ecosystem
services, locally
and globally?
Combertia, C., T.F. Thorntona, V. Wyllie de Echeverriaa & , T. Patterson, 2015. Ecosystem services or services to ecosystems? Valuing cultivation and reciprocal
relationships between humans and ecosystems. Global Environmental Change Volume 34, September 2015, Pages 247-262.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378015300145

Gretchen C. Daily, Susan Alexander, Paul R. Ehrlich, Larry Goulder, Jane Lubchenco, Pamela A. Matson, Harold A. Mooney, Sandra Postel, Stephen H. Schneider,
David Tilman, George M. Woodwel, 1997. Ecosystem Services: Benefits Supplied to Human Societies by Natural Ecosystems (Issues in Ecology: American
Society of America). https://www.esa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/issue2.pdf

Joachim H. Spangenberg, Christina von Haaren, Josef Settele, 2014. The ecosystem service cascade: Further developing the metaphor. Integrating societal
processes to accommodate social processes and planning, and the case of bioenergy, Ecological Economics, Volume 104, 2014, Pages 22-32, ISSN 0921-8009,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.04.025. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800914001426)

https://www.earthwiseaware.org/what-are-ecosystem-services/
https://www.reutersevents.com/sustainability/essay-valuing-natural-capital
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Categories-UNEP-2005-and-examples-of-ecosystem-services-Daily-1997-Daily-et-al_fig1_284717721

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/ecosystem-services-subdivision-categories-collection-outline-2128033043

https://haribon.org.ph/support-our-work/rainforestation/watersheds-and-ridge-to-reef/
https://roa.midatlanticocean.org/ocean-ecosystem-and-resources/characterizing-the-mid-atlantic-ocean-ecosystem/ecosystem-services/
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Categories-UNEP-2005-and-examples-of-ecosystem-services-Daily-1997-Daily-et-al_fig1_284717721
https://ecology.fnal.gov/ecosystem-services/
https://socratic.org/questions/define-ecosystem-service-and-give-two-examples
https://oceanwealth.org/ecosystem-services/
http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/units/env205/module1/eco.html

https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.429.aspx.pdf
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/7/1107/htm
Thank You