Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period in human history, largely to meet massively growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel. The variety of ecosystems still represents a rich mosaic of habitats and landscapes. It includes e.g. marine waters ; coastal habitats ; inland waters ; inland wetlands ; upland heaths ; arable crop areas ; grasslands ; forests. The paper addresses the ecologic, economic and socio-cultural importance of ecosystems. The approach assumes that the concept of ecosystem goods and services is inherently anthropocentric. A classification of ecosystem services has been proposed by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The principles, indicators and examples of valuation of goods and services provided by ecosystems are reviewed. The ecological valuation is based on ecological sustainability ; the economic valuation on efficiency and cost-effectiveness ; and the socio-cultural valuation on equity and cultural perceptions. Subsequently, the issue of the creation of economic, or finance instruments to protect ecosystems and ecosystem services is raised. While scientists may nowadays determine the (monetary) value of “ nature” rather well, its value is for the most part not accounted in the world market. Novel “ payment mechanism” for environmental services is needed. Such institutional arrangements result in the transfer of financial resources from beneficiaries who are willing to pay to land users and land owners who help to maintain or improve certain defined environmental services, usually by adopting alternative land uses. The principles and examples of various finance mechanisms for ecosystem services are reviewed and compared, with special emphasis on water-related ecosystems and to some extent on landscape. The main types of financing mechanisms are classified according to the pre-dominant actor(s), i.e. public/state budget ; development assistance ; contributions from the civil society (conservation NGOs, philanthropy) ; private sector contributions ; and multi-actor arrangements. Markets for ecosystem services are discussed, and future developments are put into perspective. Conclusions for policies and research, based on a number of recent conferences, are formulated.

Other fundamental technical science