Concluding Thoughts

Hello all!

It has been a busy term having to keep up with two blogs (GEOG3057: Life in Plastics), but I have enjoyed every bit of it. I dare say that this was a challenging topic to embark on, especially as I had no idea of what water meant as an ecosystem service since I had not previously encountered it in any assignment or coursework.

Initially, some posts were difficult to construct as I found myself elaborating more on other ecosystem services rather than direct uses of water (eg. consumption and agricultural production). My references to water at many points of this blog felt forced, such as when I added a line about recreational water sports being possible only because of the presence of water. Some other examples include the application of an ecosystem services approach to conserving biodiversity in wetlands, which relies indirectly on water bodies to thrive. In some posts, it was impossible to even refer to “water” directly. Nevertheless, these confusions formed the largest factor attributing to my enjoyment in writing this blog. The posts led me to understand water a lot more as an “umbrella service” which was essential to the sustenance of many other ecosystem services – biodiversity, water yield, carbon storage from tree growth, alleviation of pollution, water sports, basically everything (Turpie et al. 2008). It was difficult to elaborate on water and water only as a provisioning service; it was definitely necessary to elaborate on other ecosystem services to accompany the understanding of water as an essential good that sustains the entire ecosystem.

I have also spoken a lot about how they may be applied in management scenarios – monetary and non-monetary valuations, mapping and modeling. These interests in environmental management arise from a desire to understand environmental economics in a greater depth, which in my opinion, would become of increasing importance in development due to the need to minimise for our impacts on the environment with the recent COP21/23 negotiations in response to anthropogenically-induced climate change. Speaking at lengths about environmental management was therefore what I felt to be a practical approach to future environmental policy-making. I hope this suffices our understanding to understand why the continued supply and provision of water is essential to our well being, in all aspects of the ecosystem and our lives. I also hope that through this blog, I have made the new concept of an ecosystem services approach to water ring strongly to you as a promising approach for environmental management.

If you happen to enjoy my writing, do read more on my personal blog. Hope you had a great term!