2009/12 Health as an Ecosystem Service (ES) Workshop (Bronx, New York, USA)
OVERVIEW
While ecosystem services have been researched extensively and valued in economic terms, but relatively little attention has been paid to the health benefits that may be provided by ecosystems. The Health as an Ecosystem Service workshop, organized by the Wildlife Conservation Society, convened a small group of experts from a range of backgrounds and institutions to examine this important question of understanding ‘health as an ecosystem service’.
Objectives
The primary objective of the meeting was to collaboratively develop a framework for identifying opportunities for innovative finance/public support for the conservation of ecosystems that directly provide human health services. Specifically, to:
- (a) identify the conditions in which ecosystems may directly provide human health benefits;
- (b) assess under what conditions markets and/or public support can be created for health benefits from ecosystems; and
- (c) assess the feasibility of applied research to test the quantitative relationships between ecosystem intactness and public health at specific conservation sites.
AGENDA and OTHER KEY DOCUMENTS
Health as an Ecosystem Service Workshop Agenda (PDF)
Health as an Ecosystem Service Workshop Participants List (PDF)
Presentation on the "Potential for Conserving Health as an Ecosystem Service" given by J. Carter Ingram and David Wilkie, Wildlife Conservation Society (PowerPoint)
Partners Included:
