Placements 2016 - Joseph Kenworthy

Valuing coastal services: Stressor induced impacts, tipping points and societal wellbeing

Coastal sedimentary habitats support an array of economically valuable ecosystem services including regulatory functions such as carbon cycling or pollutant amelioration. In addition, the aesthetic value and health benefits of coastal systems are often ignored and/or under estimated. The provision of coastal services is under threat from both environmental and anthropogenic impacts that are likely to alter provisioning for the future. The purpose of this placement was to build upon my ecological knowledge to encompass aspects of ecosystem valuation and human health and consider how my own work on multiple stressors might impact ecosystem values, as alternate stable states are established after environmental tipping points are exceeded.

Further background from the Coastal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (NERC CBESS) project will be invaluable. Without assigning values to system service flows it is impossible to fully understand the consequences of these changes to coastal ecosystems. These values can be related to policy, supporting decisions relating to the conservation and protection of exploited habitats. The vital communication between experts, ecologists and economist, will be promoted by individuals gaining first-hand knowledge across disciplines.

Placement information: 

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Link to blog  Environmental economics: a beginner’s tale

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