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The Role of Ecosystem Services in Community Well Being
Citation:
Summers, Kevin, L. Smith, R. Fulford, AND R. DeJesus-Crespo. The Role of Ecosystem Services in Community Well Being. Chapter 8, Ecosystem Services and Global Ecology. InTech, Rijeka, Croatia, , 145-168, (2018). https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74068
Impact/Purpose:
Connects two major research areas for the Sustained & Healthy Communities Research Program - Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being.
Description:
Natural ecosystems provide services to humans that make life possible. Life, as well as the economy, is dependent upon these ecosystem goods and services (EGS). These services also contribute to a “good” or “quality life” by influencing the well-being of individuals and communities. Understanding the relationships among EGS that contribute to and shape well-being is an important task for researchers, decision makers and policy makers. While, in the past, these relationships have changed from being almost completely dependent upon income and consumption of goods, today the relationships are based on a more holistic perception including environmental and social attributes. The importance of ecosystem services to community well-being and their interactions are described through examples of communities’ perceptions of the importance of various attributes of well-being and the role of ecosystem services in defining public health.
