Ecosystem Services & Natural Capital: Reconceiving Environmental Management

Abstract:     
This Article considers how the twin concepts of "ecosystem services" and "natural capital" can help inform and improve environmental policy, particularly land and water protection, in the United States and globally. It identifies three possible benefits to greater understanding of the concept of ecosystem services: enhanced public support for protecting land and water; the creation of new markets for protecting land and water; and the expansion of criteria, beyond human health protection, for broadening environmental protection measures and measuring their success. The author argues that the first two benefits remain largely unrealized and suggests steps that could be taken to realize them. He emphasizes, however, that the final justification for focusing attention on ecosystem services - that they can provide broadened criteria for environmental regulation, help evaluate tradeoffs, and measure regulatory success - is perhaps the most important.

Accepted Paper Series