The Role of Ecosystem Services in Community Well-Being

J. Kevin Summers, Lisa Smith, Richard S. Fulford and Rebeca de Jesus Crespo

A chapter in Ecosystem Services and Global Ecology from IntechOpen

Abstract: 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. In the past, these relationships were 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.

Keywords: ecosystem services; human well-being; indicators; community (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ito:pchaps:140593

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.74068

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