The benefits people reap from nature – or the harm they can suffer from natural disasters – can seem as obvious as an earthquake. Yet in order to use science to manage human–nature interactions, we need much more nuanced, and when possible, quantitative, analyses of the interplay among ecosystem services, human well-being, and drivers of both ecosystem structure and function, as well as human well-being.
A publication in the Ecosystem Health and Sustainability journal explores advancing new modeling technology to quantify human dependence on nature, human well-being, and relationships between the two. The methods outlined in the paper can be applied across the globe, using either new data from surveys or existing sources such as statistical yearbooks and censuses. The new approach uses this information to measure multiple dimensions of human well-being such as basic material, security, health, social relationships, and freedom of choice and action. “An integrated approach to understand the linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being” can be found at http://www.esajournals.org/doi/full/10.1890/EHS15-0001.1 It would be interesting to know how others might find this useful. Sue Nichols Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability Michigan State University
