INDUSTRY STANDARDS
San Lameer
At the most basic level , we couldn ’ t have water without rainfall and flowing rivers , and we couldn ’ t have food without healthy soils to grow plants , and pretty little insects to pollinate the flowers that develop into fruit , vegetables and grains . On a more complex level , healthy ecosystems help to stabilise the effects of droughts and floods , control disease and pests , store carbon , cycle nutrients , purify water , and regulate air quality . They also provide raw materials such as wild foods and medicine , offer habitat for biodiversity , maintain genetic diversity , and are important for culture and leisure .
What ’ s it worth ?
The goods and benefits that healthy ecosystems provide are called ecosystem services , and they can be given a monetary value . There is not yet a consistent and comprehensive economic valuation of all South Africa ’ s ecosystems , but the studies done so far show that they carry a very high monetary value . For example , a study published last year in the journal Ecosystem Services put the annual value of the ecosystem services provided by South Africa ’ s terrestrial , freshwater , and estuarine habitats at R275 billion .
When ecosystems become degraded , there can be far-reaching implications for our economy . For a simplistic example , draining and filling in a wetland directly reduces the quality of water flowing into the local stream , and this eventually translates as a higher cost for purifying the water that enters our taps , food production plants , and breweries . In some cases degrading natural systems can have international implications , for example if poor quality freshwater reduces the health of estuaries and they can no longer function as nurseries for wild fish , this can directly threaten the fish populations that our neighbouring countries depend on for food .
So now what ?
As our impact on natural areas grows , the ability of ecosystems to provide the services we depend on declines . In addition , much of the land that houses valuable ecosystems is outside of protected areas . In Durban , for example , nearly a third of ecosystem hotspots , or priority ecosystem service areas , are privately owned . If ecosystems within privately owned land are managed well , they can continue to be functional . In addition to this , if they are protected , rehabilitated where necessary , and incorporated innovatively into estate design , they can provide a number of functions that developers would otherwise have to build infrastructure to provide .
Although even the most conservation-conscious developments cannot adequately substitute for pristine natural habitat , they can contribute significantly to maintaining ecosystem services and reducing fragmentation of natural areas , while improving the desirability and sales potential of their developments .
The one thing we can never get more of is wide-open space , so it ’ s worth investing in , especially considering that the actual rands-and-cents value of the services they provide are a boost to bottom line .
Rehana Dada
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