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Review
. 2012 Jun;41(4):327-40.
doi: 10.1007/s13280-012-0256-7. Epub 2012 May 12.

A review of the elements of human well-being with an emphasis on the contribution of ecosystem services

J K Summers  1 , L M Smith, J L Case, R A Linthurst
Affiliations
Review

A review of the elements of human well-being with an emphasis on the contribution of ecosystem services

J K Summers et al. Ambio. 2012 Jun.

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.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual model for human well-being
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Maslow’s (1943, 1954, 1998) hierarchy of needs
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