Benefits of air pollution control for biodiversity and ecosystem services

Harmens, Harry; Fisher, Richard; Forsius, Martin; Hettelingh, Jean-Paul; Holen, Silje; Le Gall, Anne-Christine; Lorenz, Martin; Lundin, Lars; Mills, Gina; Moldan, Filip; Posch, Maximilian; Seifert, Isabel; Skjelkvale, Brit Lisa; Slootweg, Jaap; Wright, Richard. 2013 Benefits of air pollution control for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Working Group on Effects of the UNECE Convention on Long‐range Transboundary Air Pollution, 48pp. (CEH Project no. C04062, C04325)

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Abstract/Summary

The Earth’s ecosystems provide an array of services upon which humans depend for food, fresh water, timber production, disease management, air and climate regulation, aesthetic enjoyment and spiritual fulfilment. Such ‘Ecosystem Services’ are currently grouped according to the benefits they provide to humans, distinguishing between provisioning (e.g. food, fresh water, fuel, wood), regulating (e.g. water purification, water and climate regulation, pollination), supporting (e.g. biomass production, soil formation, nutrient and water cycling) and cultural services (e.g. education, recreation, aesthetic). The role of biodiversity in ecosystem services is often rather unclearly stated – biodiversity is sometimes considered as a separate service and yet is implicit in most ecosystem services. Although humans are an integral part of ecosystems, the increased global population along with increased standards of living and other socio-political, economic, technological and societal changes, mean that our interventions can have profound negative effects on the quality of the services provided by ecosystems, hence affecting human well-being. The concept of ecosystem services has arisen in response to an increased need for making visible human dependency on nature and ecosystems, in order to ensure sustainable management and avoid irreversible damage to the ecosystems that ultimately will damage human well-being. Ecosystem services can capture a wider set of costs and benefits, not traditionally valued in economic analysis. In this report we provide some examples of data, available from several International Cooperative Programmes (ICPs) under the Working Group on Effects of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP), on how air pollution abatement policies provide benefits to ecosystem services and biodiversity and how further benefits can be achieved in the future. The report is not an exhaustive review of the literature but more a compilation of the present knowledge used to provide policy-relevant information by the WGE. The advantages and disadvantages of valuation in monetary and non-monetary terms were also discussed.

Item Type:	Publication - Report
Programmes:	CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biogeochemistry > BGC Topic 3 - Managing Threats to Environment and Health > BGC - 3.3 - Deliver effective advice, models and applied science ... CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Emmett
Funders/Sponsors:	UNECE, Defra, NERC
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Freely available online - Official URL link provides full text
NORA Subject Terms:	Earth Sciences Ecology and Environment Botany
Related URLs:	Project Website
Date made live:	28 Nov 2013 16:22 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/503721

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