Final Ecosystem Services [WIKIAlps

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===== Final Ecosystem Services =====

Ecosystem services can be considered final in a way that they are the outputs of ecosystems (whether natural, semi-natural or artificial) that most directly affect the well-being of people. A fundamental characteristic is that they retain a connection to the underlying ecosystem functions, processes and structures or intermediate ecosystem services that generate them (Haines-Young & Potschin 2013, p. 9) ((Haines-Young, R. & Potschin, M. (2013): Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). Consultation on Version 4, August-December 2012. Report to the European Environment Agency (EEA/IEA/09/003), checked on 3/18/2016.)) . Final ecosystem services are also relevant for economic accounting of ecosystem services. They are considered the appropriate entity for the valuation of ecosystem services to avoid duplicated assessment and ensure a parsimonious system of accounting (Boyd & Banzhaf 2007; Staub et al. 2011) <sup>((2)))</sup>  ((Staub, C.; Ott, W.; Heusi, F.; Klingler, G.; Jenny, A.; Häcki, M. & Hauser, A. (2011): Indikatoren für Ökosystemleistungen. Systematik, Methodik und Umsetzungsempfehlungen für eine wohlfahrtsbezogene Umweltberichterstattung. Ed. by Bundesamt für Umwelt (BAFU). Bern (Umwelt-Wissen, 1102).)) . Furthermore they are a matter of perspective. The provision of clean surface water might be a final service in regards to drinking purposes but may also be an intermediate service (See the opposite, [[:wiki:intermediate_es_alpes|intermediate services]]) providing a suitable habitat for fish. In this perspective the provision of wild aquatic animals as a source of nutrition is the final service (Boyd & Banzhaf 2007) ((Boyd, J. & Banzhaf, S. (2007): What are ecosystem services? The need for standardized environmental accounting units. In: Ecological Economics of Coastal Disasters - Coastal Disasters Special Section 63 (2–3), p. 616–626.)) .

//Final ecosystem services are in the focus of the [[:wiki:alpesbackground|AlpES project]], but for an integrated environmental governance also intermediate services should be considered and made aware of for strategic reasons.//

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