Integrating the ecological and economic dimensions in biodiversity and ecosystem service valuation - Chapter 1 (2010)
In spite of the growing awareness of the importance of ecosystems and biodiversity to human welfare, loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems still continue on a large scale. Fundamental changes are needed in the way biodiversity, ecosystems and their services are viewed and valued by society. A major difficulty is that many ecosystemi services ii are (mixed) public goods, and use levels are therefore difficult to regulate, even when they are at or near the point of exhaustion. Although many people benefit from ecosystem services, individuals or groups usually have insufficient incentives to maintain ecosystems for continued provisioning of services. For example, open access fisheries provide valuable harvests but often suffer from over-exploitation that leads to declines in fish populations and lowered future harvests.
Integrating the ecological and economic dimensions in biodiversity and ecosystem service valuation - Chapter 1 (2010).pdf
