What are Ecosystem Services?
Ecosystem services is the collective name for all products and services provided by the ecosystems on the Earth to human beings and other living things. Characterised as the blessings of the nature, such services ensure continuity of life on the Earth. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Report classifies the services in four categories as provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. (Source: Nature Conservation Centre).
Works on mapping and assessing ecosystem services in Turkey started in the early 2000s. Various organisations have recently been engaging in projects and applications on various ecosystems as marine and coastal protection areas, forests, wetlands, savannahs which implement ecosystem-based approaches and adaptation strategies into planning and practice, and developing policy recommendations to ensure the continuity of ecosystem services.
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