Ecosystem health, ecosystem services, and the well‐being of humans and the rest of nature

Abstract

An ecosystem is healthy if it is active, maintains its organization and autonomy over time, and is resilient to stress. Healthy ecosystems provide human well‐being via ecosystem services, which are produced in interaction with human, social, and built capital. These services are affected by different ecosystem stewardship schemes. Therefore, society should be aiming for ecosystem health stewardship at all levels to maintain and improve ecosystem services. We review the relationship between ecosystem health and ecosystem services, based on a logic chain framework starting with (1) a development or conservation policy, (2) a management decision or origin of the driver of change, (3) the driver of change itself, (4) the change in ecosystem health, (5) the change in the provision of ecosystem services, and (6) the change in their value to humans. We review two case studies to demonstrate the application of this framework. We analyzed 6,131 records from the Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (ESVD) and found that in approximately 58% of the records data on ecosystem health were lacking. Finally, we describe how the United Nations' System of Environmental‐Economic Accounting (SEEA) incorporates ecosystem health as part of efforts to account for natural capital appreciation or depreciation at the national level. We also provide recommendations for improving this system.

Chinese urbanization promoted terrestrial ecosystem health by implementing high‐quality development and ecological management

“…Thus, the VORS (vigor‐organization‐resilience‐ecosystem service) framework further refines regional ecosystem health measurement. However, Hernández‐Blanco et al (2022) pointed out that healthy ecosystems are linked to human social and economic development through the provision of ecosystem services, and the relationship between the two is complex. In view of the above controversies, this paper adopted a traditional VOR method to assess ecosystem health status.…”

A health promotion perspective on One Health

“…In the prevailing discourse of One Health, the intrinsic value of nature is debated, but to satisfy the current, evidence-based policy processes, the value of nature is translated into ecosystem-services (to humans) which are then given an economic value (Costanza et al, 1997 ). However, building on a logic that healthy ecosystems provide human well-being via ecosystem services, a review of the Ecosystem Services Valuation Database found that approximately 58% of the records data on ecosystem health were lacking (Hernández-Blanco et al, 2022 ). Independently, the re-emergence of ecological perspectives in human and animal health originating from environmental psychology, human geography, and other disciplines, provides abundant evidence supporting the health benefits from nature rather than risks (Locke et al, 2021 ; Nishi & Hashimoto, 2022 ), and fuel the need to reconsider our relationship to nature (Zu Ermgassen et al, 2022 ).…”

Quantifying synergistic effects of multi-temporal ecosystem service bundles for degraded ecosystem restoration: a case study in Hubei Province, China

“…Ecosystem degradation can decrease the availability of ecosystem services, making it a crucial indicator of ecosystem health [44]. In 2021, the Department of Natural Resources of Hubei Province released the 'Hubei Provincial Ecological Restoration Plan (2021-2035),' which outlines the most urgent ecological issues and challenges faced by the Hubei Province.…”