Ecosystem Services (RMES 508): Quantifying Nature’s Bounty towards Better Environmental Decisions

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RMES 508 1-p ad 2014 Kai Chan

RMES 508 will prepare researchers and future decision-makers to foster sustainable management of ecosystem-based activities, for the competing and complementary ends of sustaining and enhancing human well-being and protecting biodiversity. The concept of ‘ecosystem services’ (ES, the processes by which ecosystems render benefits for people) is not a framework for valuation (e.g., “putting a price tag on nature”), although it has been applied and understood as such. Rather, ES provides one novel approach for putting a ‘human face’ on ecosystem change, facilitating trade-off evaluation, and identifying ‘win-win’ opportunities. But management is never the simple implementation of any approach; accordingly, students will learn about the following facets of the concept from ecological, economic, ethical, and also institutional (law, policy, and business) perspectives: philosophical underpinnings, debates and controversies, analytical tools and approaches, recent developments, limitations, and opportunities.

ES—as the provision of benefits—can be understood as the nexus of two processes: ecosystem provision (e.g., how watersheds yield clean water) and human consumption or appreciation (e.g., how people access water). Study of ES is therefore inherently interdisciplinary, involving an integration of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Students will work in diverse teams, learn from peers, and integrate across disciplines to analyze real-world cases in partnerships with government agencies, NGOs, etc., of their choosing.

Kai M. A. ChanAssoc Prof & Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services)
CHANS Lab (Connecting Human and Natural Systems)

Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability
AERL Rm 438, 2202 Main Mall
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC  V6T 1Z4

Ph: 604.822.0400               Fax: 604.822.9250

kaichan@ires.ubc.ca           kc@kchan.org

www.ires.ubc.ca                 www.kchan.org

@KaiChanUBC                   My group: chanslab.ires.ubc.ca

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