'Ecosystem services' is the technical term in the Framework given to the 'goods and services' provided by ecosystems that benefit, sustain and support the well-being of people. They are derived from the structural components (e.g. vegetation, water, soil, atmosphere and animals) and the complex interactions between components of an ecosystem, or across ecosystems (e.g. across the landscape). These complex interactions are termed ecosystem functions.
Regulating Services
The regulation of natural conditions by ecosystem structure and function that contribute to human benefits.
Provisioning Services
Material products obtained from ecosystem structure and function that contribute to human benefits.
Cultural Services
The contribution of ecosystem structure and function to non-material human benefits.
Ecosystems and their functions can provide private benefits (e.g. those that accrue to individuals or private entities to the exclusion of others) or public benefits (e.g. benefits that are available without restriction to the community as a whole). Those receiving the benefits (private or public) are termed 'beneficiaries'. It is often helpful when considering the connections between ecosystem services and economic activities, to distinguish between beneficiaries that directly 'consume' ecosystem services (e.g. individuals and communities that breath fresh air or simply appreciate the existence of rare species or unique ecosystems) and commercial producers who take advantage of ecosystem services as inputs to their production processes (e.g. farmers who depend on pollination to grow crops).
Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity
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