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The elements of human well-being with an emphasis on the contribution of ecosystem services
Citation:
SUMMERS, J. K. AND L. M. SMITH. The elements of human well-being with an emphasis on the contribution of ecosystem services. Presented at EcoSummit 2012, Columbus, OH, September 30 - October 05, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation for 4th annual EcoSummit on ecological sustainability
Description:
Natural ecosystems perform fundamental life-support services upon which human civilization depends. However, many people believe that Nature provides these services for free and therefore, they are of little or no value. While we do not pay for them, we pay significantly for their loss in terms of wastewater treatment facilities, moratoriums or controls on greenhouse gases, increased illnesses, reduced soil fertility and losses in those images of nature that contribute to our basic happiness. Little is understood about the well-being benefits of the natural environment and its ecosystem services. The interwoven relationship of ecosystems and human well-being is insufficiently acknowledged in the wide philosophical, social, and economic well-being literature. In this presentation, we discuss an approach to examining human well-being and the interactions of its four primary elements – basic human needs, economic needs, environmental needs and subjective well-being – and ecosystem services. This approach has culminated in the development of a human well-being index that reflects all of these elements and can be applied at varying geospatial, demographic and economic scales. The results of the initial beta-testing of this index and its potential for use in decision making and policy review will be discussed.