Abstract

Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. The ecosystem service concept is a powerful framework for understanding and stressing the societal dependence on natural ecosystems, and promoting nature conservation and restoration. Furthermore, a large variety of goods and services are of critical value to economic sectors and human activities. The idea of the connections between ecosystem services and human well-being has rapidly permeated the global environmental agenda, but still many challenges remain to integrate the assessment and valuation of ecosystem services into key regulatory frameworks, and everyday environmental management and decision-making processes.