Natural capital, Ecosystem service & Environmental accounting
Socio-economic systems are highly dependent on the ecological systems in which they are embedded and from which they gain several goods and services: food, fibers, fresh water, clean air, pollination, climate regulation, among many others. The whole human economy is supplied (and also constrained) by the availability of stocks of natural capital and flows of ecosystem services. Natural capital can be defined as stocks of natural resources generating valuable flows of different types of ecosystem goods and services. Ecosystem services can be defined as the benefits humans receive from nature.
Ecosystem services assessment is a growing research field addressing the evaluation of the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. Since the late 1960s, the issue of human societies’ dependence on nature has been discussed in the scientific literature, highlighting the ability of healthy ecosystems to provide vital services in support of human economy and well-being.
Environmental accounting is a tool useful for exploring three main dimensions related to the exploitation of natural resources both in the context of nature and human economy: 1) the assessment of environmental costs sustained by ecosystems for the generation and maintenance of natural capital stocks, 2) the assessment of goods and services that humans receive from ecosystems (i.e., the ecosystem services), and 3) the assessment of the impacts generated by human activities for the exploitation of natural resources. Environmental accounting allows a deeper understanding of ecosystems functioning while supporting managers and policy makers in charge for implementing management plans and policies rooted in the principle of sustainable development. Among different methods of environmental accounting, Life-cycle assessment (LCA) accounts for resource use and related environmental impacts due to the management of human-dominated systems and processes from cradle to grave.
A comprehensive understanding of interlinked ecological-economic systems requires the integration of different disciplines, theoretical frameworks, and assessment methods, and a transdisciplinary approach integrating economics and ecological science.
Ecosystem services assessment is a growing research field addressing the evaluation of the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. Since the late 1960s, the issue of human societies’ dependence on nature has been discussed in the scientific literature, highlighting the ability of healthy ecosystems to provide vital services in support of human economy and well-being.
Environmental accounting is a tool useful for exploring three main dimensions related to the exploitation of natural resources both in the context of nature and human economy: 1) the assessment of environmental costs sustained by ecosystems for the generation and maintenance of natural capital stocks, 2) the assessment of goods and services that humans receive from ecosystems (i.e., the ecosystem services), and 3) the assessment of the impacts generated by human activities for the exploitation of natural resources. Environmental accounting allows a deeper understanding of ecosystems functioning while supporting managers and policy makers in charge for implementing management plans and policies rooted in the principle of sustainable development. Among different methods of environmental accounting, Life-cycle assessment (LCA) accounts for resource use and related environmental impacts due to the management of human-dominated systems and processes from cradle to grave.
A comprehensive understanding of interlinked ecological-economic systems requires the integration of different disciplines, theoretical frameworks, and assessment methods, and a transdisciplinary approach integrating economics and ecological science.
Professors of the PhD board
Prof. Giovanni Fulvio Russo (Ecologist)
Prof. Roberto Sandulli (Zoologist)
Prof. Pier Paolo Franzese (Ecologist)
Prof. Claudio Parente (Geomatics)
Prof. Angelo Riccio (Physics for the Earth System)
Prof. Ugo Falchi (Geomatics)
Prof. Brian Fath (Ecologist)
Prof. Agnieszka Piernik (Geobotany)
Prof. Elvira Buonocore (Ecologist)
Prof. Luigia Donnarumma (Zoologist)
Dr. Salvatore Aricò (Ecologist)
Dr. Alessandro Paletto (Environmental economist)
Current PhD students
Margherita Nardi
Milena Sokolova
Gianfranco Picone
Ludovica Capasso
Raffaele Guarino
Umberto Grande
Razane El Alam
Selma Mokrane
Lorenza Nardella
Giulio Corsi
Current PhD Projects
...
Contacts
For more information you can contact the Coordinator of the research cluster Prof. Pier Paolo Franzese, e-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Giovanni Fulvio Russo (Ecologist)
Prof. Roberto Sandulli (Zoologist)
Prof. Pier Paolo Franzese (Ecologist)
Prof. Claudio Parente (Geomatics)
Prof. Angelo Riccio (Physics for the Earth System)
Prof. Ugo Falchi (Geomatics)
Prof. Brian Fath (Ecologist)
Prof. Agnieszka Piernik (Geobotany)
Prof. Elvira Buonocore (Ecologist)
Prof. Luigia Donnarumma (Zoologist)
Dr. Salvatore Aricò (Ecologist)
Dr. Alessandro Paletto (Environmental economist)
Current PhD students
Margherita Nardi
Milena Sokolova
Gianfranco Picone
Ludovica Capasso
Raffaele Guarino
Umberto Grande
Razane El Alam
Selma Mokrane
Lorenza Nardella
Giulio Corsi
Current PhD Projects
...
Contacts
For more information you can contact the Coordinator of the research cluster Prof. Pier Paolo Franzese, e-mail: [email protected]