The provision of ecosystem services and poverty alleviation

How society chooses to use land and allocate resources drives economic development and environmental quality. This research aims to improve understanding the links between policy and management decisions, changes in ecosystems and the provision of ecosystem services, and improved human wellbeing. Of particular importance is developing better understanding of links between ecosystem services and the wellbeing of the poorest in society living in poverty. This research will focus on regional-scale analyses within South Africa that make use of a wealth of detailed spatial data, and a national-scale analysis to integrate measures of the value of ecosystem services and natural capital into national income and wealth accounts.