Ecosystem Services

Natural systems such as wetlands, estuaries, free-flowing rivers, forests, and grasslands provide services such as water purification, coastal storm and flood protection, and air pollution mitigation that benefit human communities. Yet the connection between ecosystems and these services can be difficult to see, measure, and translate into market investments. A fuller understanding of ecosystems services is necessary to prevent underinvestment in environmental protection and corresponding losses of natural system functions.

To address the issue, CMEW develops evaluation tools for ecosystem services, facilitates the explicit inclusion of ecosystem goods and services in government planning, and provides analysis of ecosystem services losses, gains, and choices.