Navigation Links
How should society pay for services ecosystems provide?
Date:11/4/2011

Over the past 50 years, 60 percent of all ecosystem services have declined as a direct result of the conversion of land to the production of foods, fuels and fibers.

This should come as no surprise, say seven of the world's leading environmental scientists, who met to collectively study the pitfalls of utilizing markets to induce people to take account of the environmental costs of their behavior and solutions. We are getting what we pay for.

"The best things in life are free, including nature", says author Stephen Polasky, professor of applied economics and ecology, evolution and behavior. "But without a price for nature's services we don't maintain the environment in ways necessary to sustain these valuable services." Polasky is also a resident fellow in the university's Institute on the Environment (IonE).

Their report, "Paying for Ecosystem Services: Promise and Peril," is published in the Nov. 4 issue of the journal Science.

Society pays for the products of agriculture, aquaculture and forestry, and has developed well-functioning markets for these products, these experts say

However, author David Tilman, Regents Professor in the College of Biological Sciences and IonE fellow, notes "We also need market mechanisms that reward farmers for the quality of the water that leaves their lands, and for other important ecosystem services." These services include watershed protection, habitat provision, pest and disease regulation, climate regulation and storm buffering.

The problem is that many ecosystem services are public goods. Some lie outside the control of any one government, and the science for others is still only poorly understood. There is no one-size payment mechanism that fits all cases. And bad payment mechanisms can be worse than no payment mechanisms at all, the study's authors warn, pointing to the lessons learned from four decades of agricultural subsidies. Subsidies encouraged the overuse
'/>"/>

Contact: Jeff Falk
jfalk@umn.edu
612-626-1720
University of Minnesota
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. E-health records should play bigger role in patient safety initiatives, researchers advocate
2. New organic catalyst should enhance drug research and development
3. Undergraduate institutions should play larger research role
4. Low-cost molecular medicine should be included in modern eye physicians tool kit
5. Species unique to single island should not be rare there
6. Data suggest liver experts should take care when prescribing novel antiviral HCV drugs
7. Biodiversity in danger: Which areas should be protected?
8. The amount of adipose tissue should be taken into account in the fight against obesity
9. Should airplanes look like birds?
10. Sediment pollution should be included in water quality assessment
11. Researchers: EPA should recognize environmental impact of protecting foreign oil
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/16/2013)... from Canada and around the world are meeting ... Neuroscience Meeting will showcase the latest in research ... reveal clues to understanding the disorders that affect ... and this meeting will showcase the best of ... says Sam David, President of the Canadian Association ...
(Date:5/15/2013)... its benefit in moderating gout risk, new research reveals ... reduce uric acid (urate) levels to a clinically significant ... alone or in combination with allopurinol, appears to have ... gout patients according to the results published in the ... Rheumatism . , Gout is an inflammatory arthritis ...
(Date:5/15/2013)... plan, " Forging the Future A Ten-Year Strategic ... Institute (DOE JGI) has positioned itself to provide the ... that they can address pressing energy and environmental scientific ... this process is the launch of the Emerging ... the ETOP is to develop and support selected new ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):7th Annual Canadian Neuroscience Meeting, Toronto, May 20-24, 2013 2Vitamin C does not lower uric acid levels in gout patients 2The DOE Joint Genome Institute expands capabilities via new partnerships 2The DOE Joint Genome Institute expands capabilities via new partnerships 3
... Research and the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary ... consortium of researchers who have developed an annotated sequence ... disease resistance and higher quality meat for consumers, the ... College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center and published ...
... around the world are alive because of him. ... make the use of life-saving devices such as prosthetic ... heart-lung bypass systems almost commonplace. In the process, ... leader. John Brash, P.Eng., director of the School ...
... the Web site www.SpringerExemplar.com , a free linguistic ... editors and the scientific community in general. ... how a particular term or phrase is used in ... to anyone with an internet connection. Springer, as ...
Cached Biology News:Bovine genome provides clues to possible new developments 2Bovine genome provides clues to possible new developments 3Canadian biomedical engineering pioneer receives international award 2
(Date:5/17/2013)... , May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Aridis ... been reached with Switzerland -based ... anti-infective human monoclonal antibody (mAb) products, and technologies. ... mAb products for treatment of infections by common ... Staphylococcus aureus , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... Rust removal is one of home maintenance's essential ... be damaged. To help rust contractors make it less expensive, ... rust remover it called Rusterizer. It announced that for ... , My Cleaning Products explained that rust could damage items ... them. The first one, it said, happens when rust ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... 2013 Oven Industries, Inc. has been ... and temperature sensors since 1964. Expertly designed, the ... control system applications. As one of the ... generic, control loop feedback system, which helps minimize errors. ... adjust a systematic process, using a control element, like ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... Ore. , May 16, 2013  HealthSparq, ... many of the nation,s largest regional health plans, ... America,s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Institute 2013 conference ... highlight survey results showing how health insurance companies ... for the consumer and marketplace demands for increased ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Aridis Pharmaceuticals Announces Acquisition of Monoclonal Antibody Products and Technologies From Kenta Biotech 2Aridis Pharmaceuticals Announces Acquisition of Monoclonal Antibody Products and Technologies From Kenta Biotech 3Organic-Based Rust Remover Cuts Down Price by 10%, My Cleaning Products Details Mechanics How to Get the Discount 2New PID Temperature Controllers Announced by Oven Industries Inc. 2HealthSparq to Reveal New Healthcare Transparency Benchmark Study at AHIP Institute 2013 2HealthSparq to Reveal New Healthcare Transparency Benchmark Study at AHIP Institute 2013 3
... 10 MedImmune today announced that,researchers will present ... the Annual Meeting of the American Association for,Cancer ... oncology research., "Cancer research has long been ... we,are proud to share data from our increasingly ...
... NEW YORK, April 10 Intellect Neurosciences,Inc. (OTC ... obtained a,Notice of Allowance and completed the grant ... Company,s ANTISENILIN(R) antibodies and,products being developed by the ... the European patent is expected in several weeks. ...
... (Nasdaq:,INSM), a developer of follow-on biologics and biopharmaceuticals, ... the Chairman and,Ranking Member of the U.S. House ... of legislation to establish a Follow-On,Biologics (FOBs) regulatory ... the biotechnology industry,healthcare and patient communities, the letter ...
Cached Biology Technology:MedImmune Presents Data Highlighting its Progressive Oncology Portfolio at Annual Meeting of the American Association For Cancer Research 2MedImmune Presents Data Highlighting its Progressive Oncology Portfolio at Annual Meeting of the American Association For Cancer Research 3Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. Receives Notice of Allowance and Completes Grant Requirements for Pivotal European Patent Related to Passive Immunization of Alzheimer's Disease 2Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. Receives Notice of Allowance and Completes Grant Requirements for Pivotal European Patent Related to Passive Immunization of Alzheimer's Disease 3Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. Receives Notice of Allowance and Completes Grant Requirements for Pivotal European Patent Related to Passive Immunization of Alzheimer's Disease 4Insmed Selected to Complete Congressional Questionnaire Regarding the Potential Establishment of a Follow-On Biologics Regulatory Pathway 2Insmed Selected to Complete Congressional Questionnaire Regarding the Potential Establishment of a Follow-On Biologics Regulatory Pathway 3
... The ProteoSpin Detergent Clean-up Micro Kit provides a ... of SDS, Triton X-100 and other detergents from ... chromatography using Norgens patented protein resin as an ... 2 50 g of either acidic or basic ...
... Maxi Kit provides a fast and simple ... Triton X-100 and other detergents from ... using Norgens patented protein resin as an ... processing 0.25 - 8 mg of either ...
Values of steady state parameters for enzyme activities are determined....
Each Yeast-GFP clone represents an individual S. cerevisiae strain containing an open reading frame with a C-terminal Aequorea Victoria GFP (S65T) fusion tag....
Biology Products: