The environmental services of forests

Abstract

The environmental services of forests.

The way society relates with forests and the services they offer has changed in the course of History. The inclusion in mainstream Forestry of total value concepts derived from Economics, together with the enlargement of its focus of interest to other disciplines has opened the door to a renewed appreciation of forest ecosystem services. There is an attempt to develop mechanisms to capture part of this value as a way to conserve and sustainably manage forests. In the present article we review the valuation and marketing of forest environmental services. We conclude analyzing some limitations experienced while implementing these methods in practice and discussing the role that environmental services may play in the future of forests.