Picture this: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies to Congress that the majority of leading economic indicators such as retail sales and housing starts are in serious decline, and that the remaining portion—while not yet in decline—are continuing at an unsustainable pace. "[This] would be the top story on every news show," said Jonathan Lash, president of World Resources Institute (WRI). While this example is an economic fiction, it is a reality for the world's ecosystems—and few are paying attention, he said at a Wilson Center event sponsored by the Environmental Change and Security Program on May 7, 2007. Launching WRI's new publication Restoring Nature's Capital, Lash and fellow speaker Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), discussed the possible reasons for and solutions to ecosystem degradation, and debated why the topic is virtually ignored by policymakers and the media.

Understanding Ecosystem Services

In 2001, then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for a comprehensive assessment of the health of the world's ecosystems and their ability to provide humans with the services on which we depend. The resulting 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment identifies four types of ecosystem services (the services humans derive from the natural world):

• Provisioning services such as food and fuel;
• Regulating services that, for example, control the climate or prevent flooding;
• Cultural services in the form of recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual value; and
• Supporting services that, for example, help with soil retention and nutrition.

1. Develop and use information about ecosystem services;
2. Strengthen the rights of local people to use and manage ecosystem services;
3. Manage ecosystem services across multiple levels and timeframes;
4. Improve accountability for decisions that affect ecosystem services; and
5. Align economic and financial incentives with ecosystem stewardship.

If these five steps can be implemented, ecosystems and the services they provide will gain strength. But if not, ecosystems will continue to degrade, stripping people of the natural capital that is critical to their survival. Lash sees hope for the former scenario, noting that the environment is ripe to raise awareness about ecosystems: "Green is hot now. This is the teachable moment. When we talk about nature this time around—now that the public is paying attention—we should get beyond charismatic megafauna and talk about the value of ecosystems to human survival."

Drafted by Karin Bencala.