Ecosystem services

Ecosystem services are vital benefits that ecosystems provide to human society. These essential services arise from the natural functioning of ecosystems and are crucial for human well-being. They support our health, economy, and quality of life. When ecosystems are in poor health, the decline in these services is felt in our daily lives and the sustainability of communities.

Types of ecosystem services

Ecosystem services are generally divided into four key categories:

• Provisioning services: Include resources directly obtained from ecosystems, such as clean water, food, wood, fibers, and medicines.
• Regulating services: Help balance natural processes and climate, including carbon sequestration, water purification, protection against natural disasters like floods and erosion, and plant pollination.
• Cultural services: Provide intangible benefits such as aesthetic value, recreational opportunities, cultural heritage, and spiritual well-being derived from ecosystems.
• Supporting services: Include fundamental processes that enable the production of other ecosystem services, such as soil formation, nutrient cycling, and oxygen production.

Threats to ecosystem services

Ecosystem services face several threats, many of which are due to human activity:

• Climate change: Alterations in climate patterns impact ecosystems' ability to provide services such as climate regulation and clean water production.
• Pollution: Contaminants can degrade the quality of water, air, and soil, affecting related ecosystem services.
• Deforestation and land-use change: Loss of forests and other habitats reduces ecosystems' capacity to provide services like carbon sequestration and soil protection.
• Resource overexploitation: Excessive extraction of natural resources undermines the sustainability of ecosystem services.