Threats to Ecosystem Services and Human Welfare Threats to biodiversity are often also threats to ecosystem services that support human welfare, and often have a direct impact on traditional and indigenous communities. Ecosystem services can be divided into four broad categories, as follows. Provisioning ecosystem services:these include provision of food and water. Commercial hunting, fishing and collection of wildlife (e.g. turtle eggs), threaten not only the target species but also local communities that traditionally rely on these food sources. Even subsistence hunting, if unmanaged, can deplete local wildlife, risking a community’s access to these resources for subsistence. Loss of biodiversity also reduces the potential for subsistence use and sustainable income from forest products such as fruit,latex and seeds. Threats to aquatic ecosystems from pollution and construction of hydroelectric dams affect the health of local communities in terms of the fish they eat and water they drink. Regulating ecosystem services:these include climate control. Deforestation in the Amazon could mean major changes to weather systems, disrupting the cycling of water between the forest and atmosphere that brings rain from the Atlantic to the Andes. This could impact weather systems across Brazil, and globally. The Amazon and Pantanal play fundamental roles in climate regulation through carbon storage. Supporting ecosystem services:these underpin other ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycles and seed dispersal. Rain forest soil fertility depends on complex nutrient cycles, as organic matter is rapidly broken down and recycled into living material. To be sustainable, traditional shifting cultivation needs appropriate forms of land tenure that allow forest plots to regenerate before being reused. In the Pantanal and Amazon, land clearing for ranches and farms decreases the soil’s capacity to retain organic matter, nutrients and moisture. Cultural ecosystem services: these include spiritual and recreational benefits. The loss of biodiversity leads to the loss of associated traditional knowledge and culture. Community-based ecotourism in the Amazon and Pantanal can contribute to sustainable livelihoods and inspire visitors from across the world.
Cultural ecosystem services: these include spiritual and recreational benefits. The loss of biodiversity leads to the loss of associated traditional knowledge and culture. Community-based ecotourism in the Amazon and Pantanal can contribute to sustainable livelihoods and inspire visitors from across the world.
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