Accounting for nature: Incorporating ecosystem services into societal decision-making

The two great challenges of the 21st century are to achieve economic development so that all people can have a decent standard of living, and to conserve and enhance the natural capital necessary for long-term sustainability.  In order to simultaneously meet both challenges we need to effectively integrate the value of nature into societal decision-making.  Nature currently provides a wide range of valuable goods and services (ecosystem services), but current economic systems typically do not account for these values nor provide adequate incentives for conserving the natural capital necessary for the continued provision of ecosystem services.  Correctly accounting for nature requires a base of natural and social science knowledge to understand the links between: a) human actions and impacts on ecosystem functions, b) ecosystem functions and the provision of ecosystem services, and c) ecosystem services and human well-being. Correctly accounting for nature also requires incorporating this knowledge into economic incentives affecting the everyday decisions of individuals, businesses and government agencies.  This talk will discuss linking natural science and economic methods to understand how alternative management choices leads to environmental impacts and changes in the provision and value of ecosystem services.  Case studies of integrated analysis on land use choices in Minnesota, Oregon, and China will illustrate aspects of accounting for the value of nature.