Human well-being means the context- and situation-dependent state of humans - a state that is “intrinsically and not just instrumentally valuable” (or good) for a person or a societal group (Reid 2005) ¹⁾. In the MEA (Reid 2005) ²⁾ components (or drivers) of human well-being have been classified (similarly to Reid) into: basic material for a good life, freedom and choice, health and bodily well-being, good social relations, security, peace of mind, and spiritual experience; not precluding other classifications (Alexandrova 2012) ³⁾.

AlpES acknowledges the strong interdependency between Ecosystem Services and human well-being expressed by MEA (2005, p.45)⁴⁾: “Human well-being depends, to a large measure, on the many services provided by nature; and the state of the environment is affected by the size and consumption patterns of human populations in ways that reduce or increase (at least temporarily) the supply of ecosystem services”.