Ecosystem services quantification to transform urban planning and global policy
Ecosystem services are benefits we get from nature, like clean air and recreation. Scientists studied how to measure these benefits and found it's important to distinguish between services that only benefit local people and those that have global impact. They looked at land use changes in The Netherlands and found that things like parks provide local benefits, while carbon sequestration helps everyone. They suggest using money to measure global services, but other methods for local ones. This distinction can help with planning cities and making policies.