Nature's Services: Societal Dependence On Natural Ecosystems (Paperback)

~ Gretchen Daily (Editor), John Peterson Myers (Foreword), Joshua Reichert (Foreword), Sandra Postel (Contributor), Kamaljit Bawa (Contributor), Les Kaufman (Contributor), Charles H. Peterson (Contributor), Stephen Carpenter (Contributor), David Tillman (Contributor), Paul Dayton (Contributor), Susan Alexander (Contributor), Kalen Lagerquist (Contributor), Larry Goulder (Contributor), Pamela Matson (Contributor), Harold Mooney (Contributor), Rosamond Naylor (Contributor), Peter Vitousek (Contributor), John Harte (Contributor) "In the space of a single human lifetime, society finds itself suddenly confronted with a daunting complex of trade-offs between some of its most important..." (more)
Key Phrases: natural pest control services, aquatic ecosystem services, fynbos ecosystems, United States, New York, Gunnison County (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Life itself as well as the entire human economy depends on goods and services provided by earth's natural systems. The processes of cleansing, recycling, and renewal, along with goods such as seafood, forage, and timber, are worth many trillions of dollars annually, and nothing could live without them. Yet growing human impacts on the environment are profoundly disrupting the functioning of natural systems and imperiling the delivery of these services.

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. Contributors including Paul R. Ehrlich, Donald Kennedy, Pamela A. Matson, Robert Costanza, Gary Paul Nabhan, Jane Lubchenco, Sandra Postel, and Norman Myers present a detailed synthesis of our current understanding of a suite of ecosystem services and a preliminary assessment of their economic value. Chapters consider:

• major services including climate regulation, soil fertility, pollination, and pest control
• philosophical and economic issues of valuation
• case studies of specific ecosystems and services
• implication of recent findings and steps that must be taken to address the most pressing concerns

Nature's Services represents one of the first efforts by scientists to provide an overview of the many benefits and services that nature offers to people and the extent to which we are all vitally dependent on those services. The book enhances our understanding of the value of the natural systems that surround us and can play an essential role in encouraging greater efforts to protect the earth's basic life-support systems before it is too late.

Product Details

• Paperback: 412 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559634766
• ISBN-13: 978-1559634762
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #247,362 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic and a must-read, August 14, 2006

By	Kai Chan "Kai M A Chan" (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Are you interested in environmental issues, natural resource policy, or understanding how ecosystems silently enable our society to function? If so you must read this book.

Almost 10 years has passed since this edited volume was published (edited by Gretchen Daily), and there has been considerable progress on some fronts. Accordingly and expectedly, some of the estimates of the values of services are out-dated, but there are crucial contributions here in the framework for understanding and characterizing such ecosystem services (the flow of benefits from ecosystems to people). This book sparked an immense scholarly and public interest in ecosystem services that has not even begun to peak. In order to enable our society to persist sustainably, we *must* understand our dependence on ecosystem services and incorporate this understanding into societal decision-making.

Top-notch scholars contributed to this excellent volume, which continues to be cited frequently in first-rate academic papers and to cause ripples in broader society.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Francisco gets badly translated., October 8, 2001

By	Sean M. Griffing "Banged up paradox" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I haven't read this book. But I think that maybe it would be good if the only review --which is in spanish-- were translated. I'm supposed to be a native speaker, but I'm more like Tarzan...be that as it may, here's Francisco's review:

This edition is important on the themes of environmental economy and the underestimation of the health of ecosystems, for humanity surges to break the little known of the ecosystems, of the synergies, and the diverse benefits they bring, much of which we don't know.
So, this book approaches the important elements, for the process of optimizing the utilization of the ecosystems, from philosophic, environmental, and economic perspectives.

I made it sound like stereo instrucions, sigh.

5 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars un aporte a la valoracion de los servicios ambientales, May 21, 2000

By	francisco correa (Medellín. Colombia) - See all my reviews

Es bien importante que se editen textos en estos temas de economía ambiental pues la subestimación del valor de los ecosistemas para la humanidad surge a partir del poco conocimiento de los ecosistemas, de sus sinergias y los diversos beneficios que brindan, muchos de ellos no reconocidos. Así, este libro aporta elementos importantes, para el proceso de optimización de la utilización de los ecosistemas, desde la perpectiva ambiental, filosófica y económica.