The development of the concept of ecosystem services: a review of foreign publications

Foreign publications devoted to the problems of determination and valuation of ecosystem services and their practical application in planning economic activities are under review. This direction of studies is being rapidly developed. It was clearly shaped after the global Millennium Ecosystem Assessment performed in 2005 on the initiative of the United Nations. In the recent decade, this direction has got an official status; specialized journals have been founded; regular conferences and workshops have been conducted. The number of publications in this field has increased considerably. The contribution of soil scientists to the valuation of ecosystem services remains modest. It is argued that the assessment and valuation of the ecosystem services of soils is a promising direction for soil science. Ecosystem services are subdivided into the groups of provisional, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. The latter group is considered the natural basis ensuring the efficient performance of other ecosystem services with their direct or indirect impact on human well-being. The assessment of ecosystem services implies three major directions: ecological, economic (monetary), and social. For each of the groups of ecosystem services, specific methods of their economic valuation are applied. Thus, provisional services are mainly assessed according to their market values. The contribution of provisional services to the total value of ecosystem services is relatively small. Regulating services are often estimated by the avoided cost and replacement cost methods, and cultural services (recreation, inspiration source, aesthetic value, spiritual value) are valued by the travel cost method. The methods of nonmarketable valuation are essentially based on the willingness-to-pay approach. Upon valuation of ecosystem services at the local level, a systems approach should be applied; it is necessary to taken into account cooperation bonus obtained by the particular stakeholders. It should also be noted that the removal of additional pressures from ecosystems in a given place might result in the increase of the anthropogenic loads on ecosystems in other places. The separation, mapping, and valuation of ecosystem services are performed with an ultimate goal to ensure sustainable development of the society and human well-being. The ecological and economic approaches in this field are actually aimed at strengthening of the role of market mechanisms in the environmental protection policy.