Why is ecosystem important for us

Goal 15 has nine targets that aim to stimulate actions throughout the globe for the next 15 years. How realistic is it that we will reach those targets? Implementation of sustainable use and management of terrestrial ecosystems and achieving a land degradation-neutral world are ambitious targets that need careful planning at both national and international levels. When striving for a land degradation-neutral world, we need to avoid quick fixes that only lead to greening of the land without creating sustainable, resilient, and well-functioning ecosystems.

Diligence must be applied to prevent targets being used to grab land under the false pretences of reversing land degradation or achieving sustainable management. It is important that restoration of degraded land, as well as afforestation and reforestation activities, be based on sound ecological knowledge, the potential of the land , and the needs of the people that live directly from the land.

The importance of including all local stakeholders as well as scientists and policymakers in the planning and implementation of all restoration activities cannot be overstated. Achieving the first four targets of Goal 15 will help to mitigate climate change Goal 13 , maintain biodiversity Goal 14 , alleviate poverty Goal 1 , increase food security and end hunger Goal 2 and foster economic prosperity Goal 8 , as well as increasing the resilience of ecosystems and societies to future challenges.

They also need certain natural processes, such as pollination, to take place. But the fact is that some ecosystem services are currently under threat. There are four main categories of ecosystem services:. Learn more about ecosystem services, how natural resources are being overexploited, how the environment is being damaged and how to protect ecosystem services for the future generations:.

Human activities are having a negative impact on ecosystems. In fact, according to the famous Millennium Ecosystems Assessment , at the beginning of the 20th century, human activities changed ecosystems more rapidly than ever before.

Humaking has been demanding for food, water, food, timber, and other materials like crazy. And all these demands have been highly contributing to deforestation to grow more crops , the loss of natural pollination bees are disappearing , water pollution from animal excreta and pesticides to plastic , soil exploitation due to intensive agriculture , overfishing and huge biodiversity loss. But why are humans affecting ecosystems this much? There is no straight-forward answer to this question.

As well, the ecological capital is hard to measure. What is its value for the environment? And for the families that go there every day?

It says that if an ecosystem service is common and belongs to no one in particular, humans will exploit it until they exhaust it. This theory where individuals pursue their individual interests is called the tragedy of the commons.

Find more info about it in our sustainable development definition. We need to rethink the processes by which we change, take, use and get disposed of natural resources. They need to become more efficient and circular so that ecosystems can be better preserved. To try and restore the health of ecosystems and their balance, our consumption and extraction processes will need to become more efficient and circular. For this, it is crucial that companies develop sustainability and CSR strategies — that they assess their impact and act upon it.

Governments need to create better regulations to encourage companies to follow this path, while at the same time, find ways to measure and include the natural capital in the most famous way not necessarily a good or fair one of accessing progress: GDP. Log in and interact with engaging content: show how they matter to you, share your experience First Name. Last Name. Simple Ecosystem Definition The simplest definition of an ecosystem is that it is a community or group of living organisms that live in and interact with each other in a specific environment.

Ecosystem Scientific Definition An ecosystem is the basic unit of the field of the scientific study of nature. According to this discipline, an ecosystem is a physically defined environment, made up of two inseparable components: The biotope abiotic : a particular physical environment with specific physical characteristics such as the climate, temperature, humidity, concentration of nutrients or pH.

The biocenosis biotic : a set of living organisms such as animals, plants or micro-organisms, that are in constant interaction and are, therefore, in a situation of interdependence. It brings nature back into the cost-benefit discussion in a way that can be easily understood. Ecosystem Services help measure the true cost of industrial development. Often, the impact industrial development has on the economy and job creation overshadows the cost it will have on surrounding lakes, forests, keystone species, and so on.

Assigning a dollar value to these lakes and forests, and the Ecosystem Services they provide, helps adjust the cost benefit analysis by evaluating the negative effects development will have on the natural environment. Companies have also started to use Ecosystem Services in conservation offset planning, where they can buy and sell credits to offset a development or set aside land to meet a specific offset.

Sustainable development supports the maintenance of a healthy economy while also protecting the ecological process for future generations. Changes in external factors, like temperature, can change the plants grow and, therefore, the animals that eat the plants might adapt, move, or die in response. The normal functioning of an ecosystem provides humans with an abundance of services that we depend upon or that can significantly improve our quality of life.

The list of ecosystem-provided services is very, very long and includes several more nuanced entries that we tend to take for granted, like clean air, a stable climate, and safe drinking water. Human action is currently disrupting a large number of ecosystems. For example, by removing most of the fish from the ocean, the whole food chain and system are disrupted and can no longer function properly.

The result is running out of certain types of seafood that we enjoy. Introducing invasive species also influences ecosystems because these invasive species outcompete several of the native species that are necessary for the system to work properly.

On a larger scale, humans are even capable of influencing external factors. By causing the earth to warm via increased carbon dioxide emissions, it influences which plants and animals can live where.

It is true that new species often enter ecosystems and that climate can naturally fluctuate but the current changes are so frequent and sudden that the ecosystems cannot adapt to new equilibrium. We are also shooting ourselves in the foot because disrupting ecosystems could have disastrous effects on ourselves: no pollination and hence few crops, bad air quality, fewer fish, and contaminated water are just a few examples.

Maintaining the balance of the ecosystem benefits us personally.