Ecosystem Services, Natural Capital & Nature’s Benefits in the Urban Region: Information for Professionals & Citizens
Ecosystem services are the aspects of ecosystems that provide benefits to people. There is a new set of approaches being introduced into professional practice that use this basic concept to better identify, assign values to, and plan for land use and environmental management. These ideas are currently best developed at global, national and regional scales and for particular features (e.g. wetlands, soils). They are not well developed for use in urban settings, and the better known approaches are complex and costly. However, they can be applicable in urban landscape settings at a variety of scales and used in less costly and more practical ways. This project explores how to do that. It is intended to guide professionals so that they can make better decisions about how to incorporate ecosystem services into their work and to inform discussion and decision making by professionals, citizens, stakeholders and policy makers.
This resource provides access to detailed technical literature, case studies and examples from around the world, including regional greenways and green infrastructure. The resources in this information document will help users to identify specific tools and approaches that can be used at the scale of the built environment, municipal districts and regional landscapes. It can also be used to inform assessment and tradeoff analyses by municipalities and government decision makers and to guide better land and resource use in environmental planning.
Out of respect for the environment, please do not print this document unless it is essential for your use. Please store and refer to the contents on screen whenever possible.
