Curtailing Ecosystem Exportation: Ecosystem Services as A Basis to Reconsider Export-Driven Agriculture in Economies Highly Dependent on Agricultural Exports
By James Gathii and Keith H. Hirasawa
ABSTRACT
Functioning ecosystems play a critical role in providing goods and services needed to sustain human life. Water provision and filtration, biodiversity, nutrient cycling, climate regulation, and carbon sequestration are all examples of services ecosystems provide that no society could survive without. Yet ecosystem services have historically been taken for granted, depleted by intention or ignorance, and replaced with inadequate substitutes. Recent research on ecosystem services has exposed the shockingly high local, regional, and global costs of losing these essential services.
Functioning ecosystems play a critical role in providing goods and services needed to sustain human life. Water provision and filtration, biodiversity, nutrient cycling, climate regulation, and carbon sequestration are all examples of services ecosystems provide that no society could survive without. Yet ecosystem services have historically been taken for granted, depleted by intention or ignorance, and replaced with inadequate substitutes. Recent research on ecosystem services has exposed the shockingly high local, regional, and global costs of losing these essential services.