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Ecosystem Services

Valuing nature globally

August 15, 2012 - 4:31pm — Emily Dietrich
From July 31 through August 3, the Ecosystem Services Partnership hosted its fifth annual international conference in Portland. With more than 350 participants from 47 different countries, the conference represented the growing global interest in ecosystem services—ways of valuing nature’s benefits in order to preserve them for present and future generations.

Valuing nature, measuring well-being

March 21, 2012 - 4:39pm — Laura Gleim
Since the 1940s, we have been measuring economic progress from a single, narrow viewpoint: gross domestic product. But what does this actually mean for people and communities?

How India is capitalizing on natural benefits from its forests

March 9, 2012 - 4:35pm — Margaret Lynn Sauter
Ecosystem services are increasingly regarded as a vital concept in conservation—helping governments, communities and businesses understand the value of the natural and cultural resources that sustain them. Last week, Madhu Verma shared her experiences defining the value of forest ecosystem services in India.

Regional conservation

February 17, 2012 - 12:00am — Laura Gleim
Portland is constantly touted as one of America’s greenest cities. But there’s more to it than an affinity for public transit and renewable energy—Portland has an abundance of natural green space that reaches beyond city limits to support communities, ecosystems, and economies throughout the region.

Nature does it better

February 7, 2012 - 12:00am — Laura Gleim
What would Mother Nature say about the way we spend precious conservation dollars? By quantifying nature’s benefits, Willamette Partnership is able to translate restoration efforts into metrics that are meaningful to industry and consumers.

Eco-restoration your way

January 27, 2012 - 12:00am — Laura Gleim
Ecosystem services are a hot topic in academic and environmental circles. But a lot of these natural services—like carbon sequestration, erosion control, or drought mitigation—are pretty technical for the average person. Instead of pricing ecosystem services based on their function, visiting economics professor Sahan Dissanayake looks at the values held by regular people.

How do we value nature?

January 20, 2012 - 12:00am — Jenny DuVander
Some people balk at the idea of putting a price tag on nature. How can we assign a dollar value to a majestic view of Mount Hood, or healthy salmon running up their home stream?

Just enough nitrogen for our ecosystem

January 13, 2012 - 12:00am — Laura Gleim
We don’t often think of nitrogen as a basic necessity—like food, water, or shelter. But while we cannot survive without nitrogen, too much is harmful as well. What we need is not too much, not too little, but just enough of a good thing.

Destruction or construction? Dams from the Pacific NW to SE Asia

November 1, 2011 - 12:00am — Laura Gleim
Last Wednesday, Pacific Power blew up the nearly 100-year-old Condit Dam on the White Salmon River in south central Washington, opening up miles of unencumbered salmon habitat. On the other side of the globe, nations in SE Asia are planning massive new hydroelectric dams on the Lower Mekong River.