Governing Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Provision

The ecosystem service concept is closely linked to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity (MEA 2005a, b). By focusing on the direct and indirect benefits humans derive from nature the concept may bridge the gap between nature conservation and economic development and help mainstreamthe sustainable management of ecosystems and their services into public policies and private decisionmaking. However, it has been emphasised by most authors that biodiversity itself is not an ecosystem service, although there is evidence of a central role of biodiversity in the functioning and resilience of ecosystems (MEA 2005b; Elmqvist et al. 2010).