Business risks and opportunities in the management of ecosystem services

Abstract

Issues connected with value of ecosystems got wide discussions during recent years in context of its goods and services providing, but also improving social and economic welfare. From an economic point of view, ecosystems provide economic agents with significant advantages, or socalled "ecosystem services". For example, forests provide raw materials for wood processing industry, genetic resources give materials for breeding and genetic engineering, rivers provide freshwater for household needs, and wetlands reduce the impact of flooding and enable the development of commercial fisheries. Therefore, the degradation of ecosystems entails not only a number of risks for business activities, but will also jeopardize the position of economic agents in the market.