Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A Review of the Elements of Human Well-Being with an Emphasis on the Contribution of Ecosystem Services

  • Review Paper
  • Published:
AMBIO Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Natural ecosystems perform fundamental life-support services upon which human civilization depends. However, many people believe that nature provides these services for free and therefore, they are of little or no value. While we do not pay for them, we pay significantly for their loss in terms of wastewater treatment facilities, moratoriums on greenhouse gases, increased illnesses, reduced soil fertility and losses in those images of nature that contribute to our basic happiness. Little is understood about the well-being benefits of the natural environment and its ecosystem services. The interwoven relationship of ecosystems and human well-being is insufficiently acknowledged in the wider philosophical, social, and economic well-being literature. In this article, we discuss an approach to examine human well-being and the interactions of its four primary elements—basic human needs, economic needs, environmental needs, and subjective well-being—and ecosystem services.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. (Children and Nature Network, www.childrenandnaturenetwork.org).

References

  • Ackerman, F., L. Heinzerling, and R.I. Massey. 2007. Wrong in retrospect: Cost-benefit analysis of past successes, 7–35. In Frontiers in ecological economic theory and application, eds. J.D. Erickson, and J.M. Gowdy, 365 pp. Chelterham: Edward Elgar.

  • Akpalu, W. 2009. Economics of biodiversity and sustainable fisheries management. Ecological Economics 68: 2729–2733.

    Google Scholar 

  • Albrecht, G. 2005. Solastalgia, a new concept in human health and identity. Philosophy Activism Nature 3: 41–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arana, J.E., and C.J. Leon. 2009. Understanding the use of non-compensatory decision rules in discrete choice experiments: The role of emotions. Ecological Economics 68: 2316–2326.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aristotle. 1984. The complete works of Aristotle. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

  • Aronson, J., S.J. Milton, and J.N. Blignaut. 2007. Restoring natural capital: Science, business and practice, 384. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balvanera, P., A.B. Pfisterer, N. Buchmann, J. He, T. Nakashizuka, D. Raffaelli, and B. Schmid. 2006. Quantifying the evidence for biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning and services. Ecology Letters 9: 1146–1156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellenger, M.J., and A.T. Herlihy. 2009. An economic approach to environmental indices. Ecological Economics 68: 2216–2223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentham, J. 1995. The Panopticon writings. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berleant, A. 1992. The aesthetics of environment. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond, C.A., K.G. Cullen, and D.M. Larsen. 2009. Joint estimation of discount rates and willingness to pay for public goods. Ecological Economics 68: 2751–2758.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, J. 2008. Counting nonmarket, ecological public goods: the elements of a welfare-significant ecological quantity index. Discussion Paper, Resources for the Future, Washington, DC, RFF DP 97–42.

  • Boyd, J., and S. Banzhaf. 2007. What are ecosystem services? The need for standardized environmental accounting units. Ecological Economics 63: 616–626.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, J., D. King, and L. Wainger. 2001. Compensation for lost ecosystem services: The need for benefits-based transfer ratios and restoration criteria. Stanford Environmental Law Journal 20: 393–412.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D.E. 2000. Using emergy systems theory to define, measure and interpret ecological integrity and ecosystem health. Ecosystem Health 6: 181–204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, N., J. Fox, and R. Bayon (eds.). 2008. Conservation and biodiversity banking, 298. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, C.M., and J.C. Whitehead. 2003. A contingent valuation estimate of the benefits of wolves in Minnesota. Environmental and Resource Economies 26: 249–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chavas, J.P. 2009. On the productive value of biodiversity. Environmental Resource Economics 42: 109–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chepesiuk, R. 2009. Missing the dark: Health effects of light pollution. Environmental Health Perspectives 117: A20–A27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chichilnisky, G., and G. Heal. 1998. Economic returns from the biosphere. Nature 391: 629–630.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D., and M. McGillivray. 2007. Measuring human well-being: Key findings and policy lesions. United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics Research. Helsinki, Finland.

  • Cloninger, C.R. 2004. Feeling good: The science of well-being, 374. Oxford: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohn, S., and D. Horm-Wingerd. 1993. Children and the environment: Ecological awareness among preschool children. Environment and Behavior 25: 103–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collard, D. 2006. Research on well-being: Some advice from Jeremy Bentham. Philosophy of the Social Sciences 36: 330–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colombo, S., A. Angus, J. Morris, D.J. Parsons, M. Brawn, K. Stacey, and N. Hanley. 2009. A comparison of citizen and “expert” preferences using an attribute-based approach to choice. Ecological Economics 68: 2834–2841.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costanza, R. 1991. Ecological economics: The science and management of sustainability, 525. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costanza, R., B. Fisher, S. Ali, C. Beer, L. Bond, R. Boumans, N.L. Danigelis, J. Dickinson, et al. 2007. Quality of life: An approach integrating opportunities, human needs and subjective well-being. Ecological Economics 61: 267–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costanza, R., O. Perez-Maqueo, M.L. Martinez, P. Sutton, S.J. Anderson, and K. Mulder. 2008. The value of coastal wetlands for hurricane protection. AMBIO 37: 241–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cropper, M.L. 2000. Has economic research answered the needs of environmental policy? Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 39: 328–350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daily, G.C. 1997. Nature’s services: Societal dependence on natural ecosystems, 391. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daily, G.C. 2000. Management objectives for the protection of ecosystem services. Environmental Science & Policy 3: 333–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daily, G.C., S. Alexander, P.R. Ehrlich, L. Goulder, J. Lubchenco, P.A. Matson, H.A. Mooney, S. Postel, S.H. Schneider, D. Tilman, and G.M. Woodwell. 1997. Ecosystem services: Benefits supplied to human societies by natural ecosystems. In Biodiversity and human health, eds. F. Grifo, and J. Rosenthal, Washington, DC: Island Press.

  • Daily, G., P. Dasgupta, B. Bolin, P. Crosson, J. du Guerny, P. Ehrlich, C. Folke, A.M. Jansson, B. Jansson, N. Kautsky, A. Kinzig, S. Levin, K. Mäler, P. Pinstrup-Andersen, D. Siniscalco, and B. Walker. 1998. Food production, population growth, and the environment. Science 281: 1291–1292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dasgupta, P. 2001. Human well-being and the natural environment, 351. Oxford: Oxford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daskon, C.D. 2008. Gross national happiness: A new paradigm. Towards global transformation: Proceedings of the third international conference on gross national happiness. The Centre for Bhutan Studies, 167–182. Thimphu, Bhutan.

  • de Groot, R.B.A., and L.M. Hermans. 2009. Broadening the picture: Negotiating payment schemes for water-related environmental services in the Netherlands. Ecological Economics 68: 2760–2767.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Groot, R.S., M.A. Wilson, and R.M.J. Boumans. 2002. A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services. Ecological Economics 41: 393–408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dekkers, J.E.C., and J.W. van der Straaten. 2009. Monetary valuation of aircraft noise: A hedonic analysis around Amsterdam airport. Ecological Economics 68: 2850–2858.

    Google Scholar 

  • Descartes, R. 1650. Collected works. In: Great books of the Western World, ed. Adler, M.J., 223–588. Chicago: Britannica.

  • Diener, E., and M.E.P. Seligman. 2004. Beyond money: Toward an economy of well-being. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 5: 1–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diette, G.B., N. Lechtzin, E. Haponik, A. Devrotes, and H.R. Rubin. 2003. Distraction therapy with nature sights and sounds reduces pain during flexible bronchoscopy. Chest 123: 941–948.

    Google Scholar 

  • Englin, J., D. Lambert, and W.D. Shaw. 1997. A structural equations approach to modeling consumptive recreation demand. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 33: 31–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faber Taylor, A.F., F.E. Kuo, and W.C. Sullivan. 2001a. Coping with ADD: The surprising connection to green play settings. Environmental Behavior 33: 54–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faber Taylor, A.F., F.E. Kuo, and W.C. Sullivan. 2001b. Views of nature and self-discipline: Evidence from inner city children. Journal of Environmental Psychology 21: 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faber, S., R. Costanza, D.L. Childers, J. Erickson, K. Gross, M. Grove, C.S. Hopkins, J. Kahn, et al. 2006. Linking ecology and economics for ecosystem management. BioScience 56: 121–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, B.P., and J.D. Erickson. 2007. Growth and equity: Kaldor-Kuznets-Solow consensus, 53–71. In Frontiers in ecological economic theory and application, eds. J.D. Erickson, and J.M. Gowdy, 365 pp. Chelterham: Edward Elgar.

  • Freeman III, M.A. 2003. The measurement of environmental and resource values resources for the future. Washington, DC: RFF Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frey, B.S., S. Luechinger, and A. Stutzer. 2009. The life satisfaction approach to environmental valuation. IZA Discussion Paper No. 4478, Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn, Germany.

  • Gigliotti, C.M., S.E. Jarrott, and J. Yorgason. 2004. Harvesting health: Effects of three types of horticultural therapy activities for persons with dementia. Dementia 3: 161–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo, Z., X. Xiao, and D. Li. 2000. An assessment of ecosystem services: Water flow regulation and hydroelectric power production. Ecological Applications 10: 925–936.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guyatt, G.H., D.H. Feeny, and D.L. Patrick. 1993. Measuring health-related quality of life. Annals of Medicine 118: 622–629.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, J.M. 2007. Reorienting macroeconomic theory towards environmental sustainability, 36–52. In Frontiers in ecological economic theory and application, eds. J.D. Erickson, and J.M. Gowdy, 365 pp. Chelterham: Edward Elgar.

  • Heerwagen, J.H., and G.H. Orians. 2002. The ecological world of children. In Children and nature, eds. P.H. Kahn, and S.R. Kellert, 29–64. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmlund, C.M., and M. Hammer. 1999. Ecosystem services generated by fish populations. Ecological Economics 29: 253–268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyos, D., P. Mariel, and J. Fernandez-Macho. 2009. The influence of cultural identity on the WTP to protect natural resources: Some empirical evidence. Ecological Economics 68: 2372–2381.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, L.E. 2003. The relationship of urban design to human health and condition. Landscape and Urban Planning 64: 191–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, L.E., E.D. Hilborn, and J.C. Thomas. 2006. Towards landscape design guidelines for reducing Lyme disease risk. International Journal of Epidemiology 35: 315–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, S.J., S.E. Hayes, D. Yoskowitz, L.M. Smith, J.K. Summers, M. Russell, and W.H. Benson. 2010. Accounting for natural resources and environmental sustainability: Linking ecosystem services to human well-being. Environmental Science and Technology 44: 1530–1536.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jørgensen, S.E., S.N. Nielsen, and H. Mejer. 1995. Emergy, environ, exergy and ecological modeling. Ecological Modelling 77: 109–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorgenson, A.K. 2003. Consumption and environmental degradation: A cross-national analysis of the ecological footprint. Social Problems 50: 374–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahn Jr, P.H. 1999. The human relationship with nature, 281. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahn Jr, P.H., and S.R. Kellert. 2002. Children and nature: Psychological, sociocultural and evolutionary investigations, 348. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahnemann, D., E. Diener, and N. Schwarz (eds.). 1999. Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology, 593. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser Family Foundation. 2005. Generation M: Media use in the lives of 8–18 year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, S. 1995. The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology 5: 169–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaval, P., and J. Loomis. 2007. The relationship between well-being and wildfire. International Journal of Ecological Economics and Statistics 7: 29–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellert, S.R., and E.O. Wilson. 1993. The biolphila hypothesis, 484. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, M.A. 1989. Nature as refuge. Children’s Environments Quarterly 6: 3–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, M., and P. Kumar. 2007. Valuation of the ecosystem services: A psycho-cultural perspective. Ecological Economics 64: 808–819.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuo, F. 2001. Coping with poverty: Impacts of environment and attention in the inner city. Environment and Behavior 33: 5–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuo, F., and W.G. Sullivan. 2001. Aggression and violence in the inner city: Effects of environment via mental fatigue. Environment and Behavior 33: 543–571.

    Google Scholar 

  • Layard, R. 2005. Happiness: Lessons from a new science. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, G.A., and L.L. Hoody. 1998. Closing the achievement gap: Using the environment as an integrating context for learning. San Diego, CA: State Education and Environment Roundtable.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindahl, J.C. 2005. On my Swedish Island: Discovering the secrets of Scandinavian well-being, 301. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Longcore, T., and C. Rich. 2004. Ecological light pollution. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2: 191–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Losey, J.E., and M. Vaughan. 2006. The economic value of ecological services provided by insects. BioScience 56: 311–323.

    Google Scholar 

  • Louv, R. 2005. Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder, 390. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Louv, R. 2008. The right to walk in the woods. http://www.childrenandnature.org/blog. Accessed 27 June 2008.

  • Lubchenco, J. 1998. Entering the century of the environment: A new social contract for science. Science 279: 491–497.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malone, K. 2007. The bubble-wrap generation: Children growing up in walled gardens. Environmental Education Research 13: 513–527.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A.H. 1943. A theory of psychological motivation. Psychological Review 50: 370–396.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A.H. 1954. Motivation and personality, 236. New York: Harper.

  • Maslow, A.H. 1998. Maslow on management, 312 pp. New York: Wiley.

  • McGillivray, M., and M. Clarke. 2006. Understanding human well-being. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendelsohn, R., and M. Balick. 1995. The value of undiscovered pharmaceuticals in tropical forests. Economic Botany 49: 223–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2003. Ecosystems and wellbeing: A framework for assessment. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and human well-being: Synthesis. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, K.A., L. Lippman, and B. Brown. 2004. Indicators of child well-being: The promise for positive youth development. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 591: 125–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Næss, A. 1989. Ecology, community and lifestyle, 223 pp. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Naiman, R.R. 2006. Healing night: The science and spirit of sleeping, dreaming and awakening, 227. Minneapolis: Syren Book Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • New Economics Foundation (nef). 2005. Well-being and the environment, 11. London, UK.

  • New Economics Foundation (nef). 2009. The unhappy planet index 2.0. Friends of the earth.

  • Nicholls, S., and J.L. Crompton. 2005. The impact of greenways on property values: Evidence from Austin, Texas. Journal of Leisure Research 37: 241–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M.C. 1992. Human functioning and social justice. Political Theory 20: 202–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paine, T. 1996. Rights of man. Ware: Wordsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parks, P., and M. Bonifaz. 1994. Nonsustainable use of renewable resources: Mangrove deforestation and mariculture in Ecuador. Marine Resource Economics 9: 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parris, T.M., and R.W. Kates. 2003. Characterizing and measuring sustainable development. Annual Review of Environmental Resources 28: 559–5865.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, A.L., P.J. Low, J.R. Ellis, and J.D. Reynolds. 2005. Climate change and distribution shifts in marine fishes. Science 308: 1912–1915.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C.H., and J. Lubchenco. 1997. Marine ecosystem services. In Natures’ services: Societal dependence on natural ecosystems, ed. G. Daily, 177–194. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pimental, D., R. Zuniga, and D. Morrison. 2005. Update on the environmental and economic costs associated with alien-invasive species in the United States. Ecological Economics 52: 273–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plato. 1956. Protagoras. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.

  • Postel, S., and S. Carpenter. 1997. Freshwater ecosystem services, 195–214: In Nature’s services: Societal dependence on natural ecosystems, ed. G.C. Daily, 391 pp. Washington, DC: Island Press.

  • Poudyal, N.C., D.G. Hodges, J.M. Bowker, and H.K. Cordell. 2003. Evaluating natural resources amenities in a human life expectancy production function. Ecological Economics 68: 253–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretty, J., J. Peacock, R. Hine, M. Sellens, N. South, and M. Griffin. 2007. Green exercise in the UK countryside: Effects on health and psychological well-being, and implications for policy and planning. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 50: 211–231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raffestin, C., and R. Lawrence. 1990. An ecological perspective on housing, health and well-being. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 17: 143–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapport, D.J., R. Costanza, and A.J. McMichael. 1998. Assessing ecosystem health. TREE 13: 397–402.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rockel, M.L., and M.J. Kealy. 1991. The value of nonconsumptive wildlife recreation in the United States. Land Economics 67: 422–434.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez-Azofeifa, A., A. Pfaff, J.A. Robalino, and J.P. Boomhower. 2007. Cosa Rica’s payment for ecosystem services program: Intention, implementation and impact. Conservation Biology 21: 1165–1173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandhu, H.S., S.D. Wratten, R. Cullen, and B. Case. 2007. The future of farming: The value of ecosystem services in conventional and organic arable land. An experimental approach. Ecological Economics 64: 835–848.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandhu, H.S., S.D. Wratten, and R. Cullen. 2010. Organic agriculture and ecosystem services. Environmental Science & Policy 13: 1–7.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B. 2009. Nature-deficit disorder tops list of important stories. New West, December 31, 2009. www.newwest.net. Accessed 25 June 2010.

  • Sen, A. 1985. Commodities and capabilities. Amsterdam: North Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snelgrove, P.V.R. 1999. Getting to the bottom of marine biodiversity: Sedimentary habitats. BioScience 49: 129–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soares, W.L., and M.F. de Souza Porto. 2009. Estimating the social cost of pesticide use: An assessment from acute poisoning in Brazil. Ecological Economics 68: 2721–2728.

    Google Scholar 

  • Southwick Associates. 2007. Sportfishing in America: An economic engine and conservation powerhouse. Produced for the American Sportfishing Association, 11.

  • Spinoza, B. 1955. Works of Spinoza. New York: Dover Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasan, J.T., and V. Ratna Reddy. 2009. Impact of irrigation water quality on human health: A case study in India. Ecological Economics 68: 2800–2807.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoll, J.R., R.B. Ditton, and T.L. Eubanks. 2006. Platte River birding and the spring migration: Humans, value and unique ecological resources. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 11: 241–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutton-Smith, B. 1990. School playground as festival. Children’s Environments Quarterly 7: 3–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talberth, J., C. Cobb, and N. Slattery. 2006. The genuine progress indicator 2006—a tool for sustainable development. Redefining progress—the nature of economics, 31. Oakland, CA.

  • Taylor, P.W. 1986. Respect for nature: A theory of environmental ethics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Theodoropoulou, S., and F. Zuleeg. 2009. What do citizens want? Well-being measurement and its importance for European social policy-making. EPC Issue Paper No. 59. Europe’s Political Economy Programme. ISSN 1782-494X.

  • Tuan, Y.-F. 1961. Topophilia, or sudden encounter with the landscape. Landscape 11: 29–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich, R.S. 1999. Effects of gardens on health outcomes: Theory and research. In Healing gardens. Therapeutic benefits and design recommendations, eds. M.C. Cooper, and B. Marni, 27–86. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • US Government Accountability Office (GAO). 2007. Measuring our natural resources and environmental sustainability. GAO-08-127SP. Washington, DC. http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-127SP. Accessed 24 June 2010.

  • van Noy, R. 2008. A natural sense of wonder: Connecting kids with nature through the seasons, 164. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. 2004. Happiness as a public policy aim: The greatest happiness principle. In Positive psychology in practice, eds. P.A. Linley, and S. Joseph, 658–678. Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vemuri, A.W., and R. Costanza. 2006. The role of human, social, built and natural capital in explaining life satisfaction at the country level: Toward a national well-being index (NWI). Ecological Economics 58: 119–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verbeek, P., and F.B.M. de Waal. 2002. The primate relationship with nature: Biophilia as a general pattern. In Children and nature, eds. P.H. Kahn, and S.R. Kellert, 1–28. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek, P.M., H.A. Mooney, J. Lubchenco, and J.M. Melillo. 1997. Human domination of earth’s ecosystems. Science 277: 494–499.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wackernagel, M., N. Schultz, D. Deumling, A. Linares, V. Kapos, C. Montfredo, J. Loh, N. Myers, et al. 2002. Tracking the ecological overshoot of the human economy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 99: 9266–9271.

  • Waterman, A. 1993. Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (Eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64: 678–691.

    Google Scholar 

  • Welsch, H. 2009. Implications of happiness research for environmental economics. Ecological Economics 68: 2735–2742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, M.A., and S.R. Carpenter. 1999. Economic valuation of freshwater ecosystem services in the United States: 1971–1997. Ecological Applications 9: 772–783.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Economic Forum. 2002. Environmental sustainability index; main report, global leaders of tomorrow environmental task force, world economic forum. www.ciesin.columbia.edu/indicators/ESI.

  • World Wildlife Fund. 2008. Living planet report 2008. Gland: WWF. Accessed 28 June 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worm, B., E.B. Barbier, N. Beaumont, J.E. Duffy, C. Folke, B.S. Halpern, J.B.C. Jackson, H.K. Lotze, et al. 2006. Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services. Science 314: 787–790.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wunscher, T., S. Engel, and S. Wunder. 2006. Payments for environmental services in Costa Rica: Increasing efficiency through spatial differentiation. Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 45: 317–335.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Disclaimer

The information in this document has been funded wholly (or in part) by the US Environmental Protection Agency. It has been subjected to review by the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents reflect the views of the Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gulf Ecology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL, 32561, USA

    J. K. Summers, L. M. Smith & J. L. Case

  2. Office of Research and Development, Ecosystems Services Research Program, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

    R. A. Linthurst

Authors
  1. J. K. Summers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. L. M. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. L. Case
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. R. A. Linthurst
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. K. Summers.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Summers, J.K., Smith, L.M., Case, J.L. et al. A Review of the Elements of Human Well-Being with an Emphasis on the Contribution of Ecosystem Services. AMBIO 41, 327–340 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0256-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0256-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation