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Critically Review the Contention that the Science of Ecosystem Service Has Transformed the Way which we Value Nature and Conserve It.
The way we value and conserve nature has dramatically changed over the course of time and the concept of preserving the natural environment which surrounds us is and old one while also still a relatively new one. During the time of pre-industrial evolution the benefits that were received by humans from natural ecosystems were often regarded as sacred and were entrenched into the way society lived (Costanza, 1987). After the industrial revolution much of western society adopted the ideology that nature was just something to be enjoyed if you could afford the time and cost to do so, all else was focused on the growth of the economy. Conservation came at a cost and the subject of environment vs economy was often used to describe the argument (Costanza, 2011). Today the science of ecosystem service is being developed, is rapidly becoming more widely accepted and is helping shape the way we think about nature today. With many global initiatives being ran such as the United Nations Environment Program: Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity the science of ecosystem service is rapidly gaining mass media coverage (Sukhdev, P, 2011). This is important because whoever we are and where ever we are our lives are influenced by the ecosystems that surround us. The benefits they provide to humans can be loosely defined as ecosystem services, they can be spilt into four general groups depending on the type of service they provide (de Groot, 2002). These are provisional services that can provide raw materials, food and energy. Regulation services which contribute to carbon sequestration and disease control. Cultural services, which benefit us with science and educational experiences. Finally, supporting services, these account for seed dispersal