Marine Ecosystem Services in Europe
Résumé
The concept of ecosystem services (ES) refers to the multiple benefits humans gain from maintaining ecosystem health and functions. This notion has theoretical and practical implications because it frames scientific findings into economic terms to raise awareness of the value of functional ecosystems. It follows that environmental management that incorporates the ecosystem service approach is economically efficient and sustainable. The ES approach is particularly useful for coastal and marine ecosystems because they traditionally lack spatial planning and protective regulation. Moreover, the concept of ecosystem services emphasizes the ocean’s function as a climate regulator, and its crucial role for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Regional implementation of integrated management already exists in the European Union. The next step now is to apply the ES approach to other, threatened regions such as the Mediterranean in order to ensure ecosystem resilience and service provision.
Mots clés
COP21
Ocean
Climate change
Paris Agreement
FACT-O
economic solutions
Ecosystem services
Multiple benefits humans gain
Ecosystem health
Ecosystem functions
Environmental management
Coastal ecosystems
Marine ecosystems
Spatial planning
Protective regulation
Mitigation
Adaptation
Regional implementation
EuropeanUnion
Mediterranean
Ecosystem resilience