Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from forests, freshwater, and other ecosystems—water, soil fertility, biodiversity, and climate regulation among the most critical. Ecosystem services are central to sustainable livelihoods and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Agricultural production and food systems everywhere depend on and should contribute to ecosystem health. Decisions we make regarding how to manage crops and agricultural landscapes have environmental implications, including for biodiversity and a wide range of ecosystem services, such as water quality, pollination, nutrient cycling, soil retention, and carbon sequestration. Agro-ecosystem management should aim not only to increase the productivity of existing agricultural land, but also to maintain ecosystem functions underpinning the sustainable supply of goods and services.

IFPRI research provides much-needed insight into how values of ecosystem services and externalities of production systems can be integrated into decision-making of both farmers and policymakers. To inform policies and promote sustainability and inclusion, IFPRI engages in ecosystem services research in the following areas, among others: natural resource management games for research and social learning; valuing and modeling ecosystem services; land use, biodiversity, and ecosystem services; sustainable intensification analysis; and community-based natural resource management. IFPRI’s ecosystem services research is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 15.