Course Description
Forests are an important natural capital. They produce bundles of ecosystem services to support well-being and livelihoods. The use of these ecosystem services, however, also affects the natural capital. Thus, striking a balance between its exploitation and conservation is both a long-desired goal and a challenge with no concrete formula on how to get there. Furthermore, rapid losses of forest ecosystem services due to anthropogenic impacts and phenomena such as climate change are realities that many nations contend with. An understanding of the science of ecosystem services and how it contributes to livelihoods of communities in the forest is critical in designing meaningful actions for its sustainable use and management. Ecosystem services is a concept that “helps explain human reliance on nature and frame the decisions we make in terms of the ongoing value of nature for human well-being” (Bennet and Chaplin-Kramer 2016). The course emphasizes ecosystem services as an approach to harness forest-based community livelihoods and as a means to sustainably manage and use forests as natural capital. It is developed for professionals or practitioners engaged in forest or environmental governance and management.
Target Audience
The course is intended for foresters and practitioners in the field of Forestry. These learners should have already taken basic courses in Forestry or any equivalent program which includes the courses stated under “course prerequisites”.
Course Author
Dr. Juan Pulhin, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), Philippines
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