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FEGS at the inflection point: How linking Ecosystem Services to Human Benefit improves management of coastal ecosystems.
Citation:
Fulford, R. AND M. Russell. FEGS at the inflection point: How linking Ecosystem Services to Human Benefit improves management of coastal ecosystems. CERF, Providence, RI, November 05 - 09, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
CERF 2017 Special Session Proposal
Description:
Final ecosystem goods and services (FEGS) are the connection between the ecosystem resources and human stakeholders that benefit from natural capital. The FEGS concept is an extension of the ecosystem services (ES) concept (e.g., Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) and results from an effort to understand how beneficiaries use natural capital and how that information can be applied in ecosystem management. The theoretical ground work has been laid for classification, developing metrics for, and valuation of FEGS. Efforts are now shifting to the practical question of how this scientific information can be integrated across multiple services and how it can be used by policy makers and natural resource managers to make decisions. In this session we will explore the state of the science for classifying ecological change as FEGS, for developing metrics and models to measure FEGS production, and for use of this scientific information in management of estuarine systems. We will also consider what roadblocks may exist for wide adoption of the FEGS approach to management. We invite presentations in three main topic areas: Definition of high priority FEGS, development of models and tools for estimation of FEGS production, and use of FEGS in resource management.