Ecosystem Services

Quick definition

Ecosystem services are the benefits people receive from healthy ecosystems, like clean water, flood control, pollination, and recreation.

What it means in practice

Policy and planning sometimes quantify nature’s value through the services ecosystems provide. That can help justify protection, but it can also reduce ecosystems to “what they do for us,” rather than recognizing their inherent value.

Why it matters for rights of nature

Rights of nature goes beyond services. It recognizes nature as having value in itself, not only as a provider. This term helps explain that contrast clearly.

Related Terms

Balancing of Interests

Balancing of interests means nature’s interests are included and weighed as legally cognizable interests – without assuming nature automatically wins every conflict.

Beneficial Use

Beneficial use is a water-law principle that ties water rights to recognized uses, rather than allowing water to be hoarded.

Cause of Action

A cause of action is the specific legal claim that lets a court hear your case, what law was violated and what the plaintiff is entitled to ask for.

Declaratory Judgment

A declaratory judgment is a court decision that clarifies legal rights and duties, declaring what the law means and how it applies, without necessarily ordering immediate action.

Due Process

Due process is the legal requirement that government actions affecting rights follow fair procedures, and in some contexts, be substantively fair.

Duty of Care

A duty of care is a legal obligation to act reasonably to avoid causing foreseeable harm.

Related updates

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North Pacific gray whales are dying from malnutrition in alarming numbers. Credit: Cascadia Research Collective

Gray Whale Deaths in Washington Are a Warning Sign from the Arctic

April 10, 2026

Study sites. (a–c) Nanika catchment in Western British Columbia, Canada. (d–f) Krycklan catchment in the boreal region of northern Sweden. (a, d) Satellite images and boundaries of Nanika and Krycklan. The red circle and yellow square show the locations of the catchment outlet and streamflow measurement station, respectively. (b, e) Topographic map showing the elevational pattern of both catchments. Note the distinct elevational ranges in the two catchments. (c, f) The distribution of slopes in the two catchments, reflecting a larger portion of very steep locations (∼100% or 45°) in the Nanika vs. Krycklan. Slope and elevation maps were generated at 90-m and 30-m resolution for Nanika and Krycklan, respectively. Credit: Water Resources Research (2026). DOI: 10.1029/2025wr040679

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January 27, 2026

Scientists Are Making the Legal Case for Wetlands

October 5, 2025

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