How much is the natural environment worth? What would it cost to replace those services that nature provides for free?
This is the link to the article that you will be responding to.
Ecosystem Services Pay, Says Report
http://uk.oneworld.net/article/view/164038/1/
Remember, you need to write a 300 word opinion/reaction to the article by Friday, June 24. You then have between Friday, June 24 and Friday, July 1 to respond to one of your classmate's posts. Please see the calendar page, the link for which is on the right.
Additionally, you should take a look at the links below to familiarize yourself with the issue a bit more. This will give you some context when you read the article. I don't expect you to spend too much time, but take a few minutes to explore the sites and get an idea for the scope of the issue.
A list of examples of services that the ecosystems of our planet provide for us:
http://www.ecosystemservicesproject.org/html/overview/index.htm
A short list of values associated with various services. Cool pie chart.
http://www.wri.org/publication/content/8381
This website is devoted to the methods of valuing the services the environment provides:
http://www.ecosystemvaluation.org/big_picture.htm
How many billions of dollars is the Canadian wilderness worth:
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Canadian+ecosystems+providing+billions+free+services/4898800/story.html
This is a link to a map showing areas in the world where forests can be restored:
http://www.wri.org/map/global-map-forest-landscape-restoration-opportunities
If we really start to think about how much nature’s services would cost we would be astonished and we would probably not have enough money to pay for them. Nature provides us with so many resources that we sometimes take for granted and therefore do not take care of them because they are free and we think they will always be there. If these services which are provided for free would come to an end and we would need to pay for their replacement, there would not be enough money to fulfill our needs. We would all need to gather the greatest amount of money possible to save our world.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, many countries are starting to worry more in the 21st century about caring for the environment and in a way that is making difference. In some countries, jobs have been generated as well as there have been local family incomes’ boosts. People are now starting to realize we need to restore ecosystems. The problem is that after exploiting a specific area, it is difficult to rehabilitate it since it is highly expensive, and that is when we need to worry about taking care of the environment and using it wisely. With this we can see how the environment directly affects the economies of the different countries. The article states that it is up to the government to move us toward a resource efficient economy, but I also think that everyone needs to collaborate and create a better environment. They are beginning to come with new plans to reduce deforestation, which is linked to greenhouse gases emissions. This in a way helps the environment because it is an effective way of creating funds and mechanisms to help the environment. With these different forms of protecting the environment provided by TEBB, I think that the environment will be better taken care of.
This article changes the prospective and provides a completely different view of where countries can spend there money for future positive outcomes. Instead of spending billions of dollars finding where oil hides under the planet governments for example can spend it on exploding natural resources. For example, Vietnam spends it on planting and protecting mangroves so that it cuts operating costs for their levees. The cause of this investment of the vietnamese is that even though they are investing in saving or recuperating the eco-system the final result not only does it create a positive impact in the environment but it also benefits other investments by creating less barriers such as facilitating the maintenance in dykes.
ReplyDeleteThe natural environment is priceless, not only for the fact that we need to conserve it in order to live healthier and longer life but also because if we continue the abusive treatment of the natural resources the amount of money invested just to fix the harm that we will create will be much more pricy than what it could be if we just conserve the eco-system. Furthermore if the environment is not taken cared of many of the multi-billion dollar industries and companies that compose a great part of the world economy can be completely shattered. A great example of this is that if we continue this abuse, oil industries will have a harder time finding their hidden treasure. In addition other industries such as the medical branch will also be affected because the continuous deforestation is destroying the opportunities of finding new medical breakthroughs achieved by natural resources. It is evident that the mistreatment of the environment and of the different ecosystems only end up affecting the economy worldwide and it is due to this reason that now many investments are being made in the environment not only as a way to avoid the economy from getting affected but also because investing in the environment also provides a positive economic output.
The ecosystem surrounds us. A true system where we have the responsibility to be in charge of it by taking care of it. The problem is that people don’t do that. They use it as a normal thing, which in the future will be very valuable for our descendants. It is truly important, for the United States the ecosystem services is $33 trillion. The services include: soil formation, recreation, nutrient cycling, habitat, climate, food and raw materials production and many more. Without an ecosystem we wouldn’t have a life.
ReplyDeleteThere are many policies that can be done in order to protect our ecosystem in the future. Some of them are protect tropical coral reefs, save and restore global fisheries. Investing in ecological infrastructure will increase resilience to climate change, reduce risk from natural hazards and contribute to poverty alleviation. These are some of the policies and in my opinion they will contribute on saving an ecosystem instead of losing it. Some people and countries fortunately see the need of the ecosystem to survive and therefore like the Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve, it has generated 7,000 jobs and boosted local family incomes. Another good fact in my opinion is that one in forty jobs in Europe are now linked with environment and ecosystem services ranging from clean tech eco-industries to organic agriculture, sustainable forestry and ecotourism. I think it is excellent since time by time these jobs related to environment and ecosystem will rise and therefore more people will be connected and able to protect our nature, the ecosystem. There are unfortunately problems that commercial operators have after years of exploitation. This is bad since it is very expensive to repair it. I think that TEEB is an organization capable of maintaining the ecosystem. If people really take account on all the policies, like some countries are doing now, economics and policy enabling practical actions in response will grow evidence on the impact of loss of biodiversity moving forward. The economies of some countries invest a lot on the environment. But in my opinion if we follow the policies the amount of money will reduce and therefore continue to have our ecosystem.
The natural enviorment has no price since our whole world needs it ti survive. Nature provides us with alot of benefits for free, this causes us to take them for granted, yet we should not take this sevices for granted since our survival depends on them. Nature provides many things such as food, water, raw materials and prevent natural disasters from occuring. All of this we take for granted thinking that this services will always be at our disposal and that they will last forever, yet this services will not last unless we take care of nature so we can preserve it.
ReplyDeleteThe services that nature provides us for free are irreplaceble once gone it would be nearly impossible to get them back plus it would be extremly expensive. Protecting the enviorment generates more benefits than destroying it for its raw materials. Protecting the enviorment generates alot of jobs, increases families income, improves lives and makes our world healthier and better. Many countries have begun to use this eco friendly economy such as: Venezuela which invested into protecting natural areas to save 3.5 million dollars, Vietnam spends 1 million dollars protecting mangroves yet saves 7 million dollars in dyke maintaince, and Guatemala investment in Maya’s Bioshpere has generated 7,000 jobs boosting income and improving the lives of a lot of people. The pie graph shows how important nature is while the whole worlds GNP 18 trillion dollars the ecosystem sevices are 33 trillion dollars this means that nature services equal almost double the whole worlds GNP for free. This is truly impressive and it shows how much nature helps us on a daily basis. In conclusion it is clear that the natural enviorment has no cost and it would be nearly impossible to replace the services which nature gives us. If the ecosystem is protected the benefits are inmense as people have better lives as thier income raises this makes the world improve its economy at the same time its ecosystem also improves.
I think these articles are really interesting in that they highlight all the many services ecosystems give us and that we simply take for granted, for example, getting rid of wastes, pollination, prevention of erosion and protection from certain natural disasters. It’s crazy how if you remove a certain specie, the whole ecosystem is disrupted. For example, if a bee becomes extinct, then it becomes harder for flowers to be pollinated, and then since there is a decline in the number of flowers, then another specie suffers. Since ecosystems are so fragile, I think people should do anything possible to preserve them. And well, after having taken Astronomy, I’ve been thinking a lot lately. The ability for life to have risen on Earth is really remarkable. A lot of factors had to come into play for life to have risen. Thus, I think it’d be very disappointing for a specie like us that has so much intelligence to wipe it out.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, I must admit that not all disruptions of ecosystems are bad. From my understanding, the sequoias in California would not have emerged had it not been for the Native Americans that burned the forests, and well... we probably wouldn’t be here if the dinosaurs would not have been wiped out after the meteorite. So, I begin to wonder is it really worth it to preserve the ecosystem? I think it just might. If humankind wants to continue living, I think it should definitely reconsider its actions and try to preserve the environment. If we don’t wipe out life completely, then ecosystems will change and new species will emerge. Still, that doesn’t guarantee that we’ll be part of these new ecosystems. I think this issue is not much of trying to save the plants or the animals (although I am all for it), but more of trying to save ourselves. What nature provides is truly irreplaceable.
I liked Alejandro's and Gabriela's examples on how the jobs have been created that actually help the environment. I think it's great that Europe has been moving towards the green energy and developing organic agriculture and that Vietnam has been going into the planting of mangroves. Many times, I feel people refuse to invest or participate in conservation efforts since they believe it's too difficult or not worthwhile, but as can be seen, hundreds of jobs have been created, which is great! With a little creativity, we can find a way in which saving the environment can help the environment itself and the people as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that Isabella made a great point saying that if humankind wants to continue living, they should definitely reconsider its actions and try to preserve the environment. I think this is totally true! She also stated that all of this basically concentrates on saving us as the main thing.( Although animals and plants also, but most of all us) It is interesting since it is true because we would save a human first than a plant or animal. Finally she sated that what nature provides is truly irreplaceable. I think this is a big point and it is completely true!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Gabriela in that we truly need to take care of the environment and that we are responsible for it. However, people do not realize this and they treat the environment as something that is not important or even worse, they take it for granted. Also, it is important to continue establishing jobs that can actually help take care of the environment as Gabriela stated. If these jobs increase, people will have a better opportunity to better their economic status in a way that is environmentally sustainable at the same time. On the other hand, I also agree with the fact that some commercial operators exploit the environment, so I think that they should be responsible for the environment’s restoration after their use. Gabriela is right, if we all contribute with policies that are established, we will achieve a better world.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what Isa had to say because this articles are evidence of reminders that we must have in order to take care of what the environment and that natural resources have to offer. This articles are also perfect because they highlight how even though natural resources may seem abundant, if we continue to treat the environment as we are now doing we will have troubles in the future. Moreover I agree with what Francisco had to say because what the environment has to offer is priceless and also that companies may now start investing in the environment to create a positive economic outcome and help the environment.
ReplyDeleteI support what Alejandro had to say since the enviorment gives us a lot of benefits, Vietnam creating jobs for people by planting mangroves but this has two impacts it improves the lives of people by giving them jobs and also helps the enviorment. I also agree with Isabella that the ecosystem is extremely fragile and we must preserve it since it gives us a lot of benefits which would otherwise be very hard to do such as preventing erosion, pollinating flowers and preventing natural disasters. I believe that if we start to invest more money in protecting the enviorment rather than destroying it the end results and benefits will be enormous
ReplyDeleteIf we stop and look what nature has offered us since the beginning we (humans) do not have anything to balance or to overtake the amount of resources provided for us by the natural environment. The planet’s estimated price on the ecosystem services is talking about a multi-trillion dollar system. We receive so much from nature and most of the population takes it for granted. Without it we would not be able to survive.
ReplyDeleteOur consequences are substantial complications so people are taking charge by placing investments in managing and restoring the ecosystems. Clearly we cannot afford to replace all the services that nature has given us with no charge. Now there is hard to find commodities that come for free. Nature has given the opportunity to take advantage of what it has provided us free, and evidentially we have not produced the best of it. For example in Thailand there is a report that many nature mangroves were killed for shrimp plantation. We do things for our own benefit without considering what surrounds us. Change need to come soon because we are experiencing many crises for our acts against the environment in fuel, food, finances, and many other topics. In order to cure this problem the government has to provide motivations to clean the ecosystem and other objectives. We, humans, owe so much to nature and there are many areas in which we can help. Some of them are: protect tropical coral reefs, recognize protected areas, invest in ecological infrastructure, save and restore global fisheries, and many more. Some improvements are starting to show as the fact that one in forty jobs in Europe are connected with the ecosystems and environment services with organic agriculture. The TEEB organization consists of many countries that are willing to make a change and I think they can realize them if they put their best efforts.
Natural resources are a gift to mankind. Some are very useful in our daily lives and help us survive. We take all our resources for granted because we do not really know how much they are really worth or how much it takes to replace them. We are surrounded by nature all around us, and we need to protect it for future generations to come, or else I do not know where the world could stand. If we want to preserve the natural resources, we got to start using the ecosystem services. In other words, we have to reduce, reuse, recycle, and follow many green campaigns that are happening all around the world. Some countries already use these services and the results are flourishing. Even thought they are really expensive, at the end you end up earning more than what you paid for. For example, in Vietnam the cost for the services were just a little more than a one million dollars but the money they saved up from the maintenance and protection by the environmental services has saved them seven million dollars a year since the year it started was 2008. Some countries are looking at the ecosystem services as an investment, just like in Brussels; there is a multimillion-dollar ecosystem service that predicts that the rates from this century are going to be much higher than last centuries’ rates. The natural environment is so great; there would not be an amount of money to pay for it all. To change all those environmental services that nature provides free for us, it would take each citizen in this world to start making changes in their life style. They have to step up and really change their way of life. Maybe some people would not like it and for others it might be difficult to adjust to new changes, but everyone has to sacrifice their way of living to save the planet.
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