Wainger
Lab
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Ecosystem Services Mapping - An Economic Approach
The idea that nature contributes materially to both our individual well-being and the health of the market economy – and that such contributions can be quantified and mapped – is leading to new opportunities for combined ecological and economic analysis. Dr. Wainger has been contributing to the development of this field for over a decade and, with colleagues, has developed an approach to mapping ecosystem service benefits that considers the key aspects of supply and demand of services that determine value and inform local and regional tradeoffs.Dr. Wainger is participating in new research by EPA's Office of Research and Development Ecosystem Services Research Program. A case study of Midwestern landscapes involves a 5-step strategy for evaluating alternative policy development for agro-ecosystems:
1.1.
Identify Decision Maker Needs
2. Structure Environmental Services
Classification & Quantification
3. Synthesize Current Research with Models
4. Incorporate Dynamics between People,
Policy and the Environment
5. Produce Web-Based Decision Support and
Integrated Assessment Tools
This project began in 2009 and is ongoing. Products from this work will be posted as they become available (click thumbnail for larger image).
For more information about this project, please visit the Ecosystem Services Research Program, here.