Natural Capital and Human Well-Being

Human society depends on vital goods and services provided by ecosystems but there is concern that human actions are eroding the natural capital that underlies the provision of ecosystem services.  In principle, the value of natural capital can be measured by how it increases the flow of services and the consequent increase in human well-being.  To do this in practice we need to have improved understanding of links between ecosystem structure and function and provision of ecosystem services and the contribution of services to human well-being.  This talk will review recent advances in understanding and empirical evidence of the connection between natural capital and human well-being.