Final Reminder:

The UF Water Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Bob Costanza will be the next speaker in the Smallwood Distinguished Scholar Seminar Series December 4, 2008.



Reitz Union 2nd floor Auditorium


Understanding, Modeling and Valuing Ecosystem Services

Dr. Robert Costanza
Gordon and Lulie Gund Professor of Ecological Economics
and Director,  Gund Institute of Ecological Economics
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
The University of Vermont


Date:             Thursday, December 4, 2008

Time:            3 pm

Location:      Reitz Union 2nd floor Auditorium

Abstract:
An ecosystem services (ES) based approach can assess the trade-offs inherent in managing humans embedded in ecological systems. Evaluating trade-offs requires both an understanding of the biophysical magnitudes of ES changes that result from human actions, as well as an understanding of their impact on human well-being, broadly conceived.  The state of the art of ES assessment and modeling will be discussed, including the potential of integrated ecological economic modeling.  The MIMES (Multiscale Integrated Models of Ecosystem Services) framework is one such initiative,  designed to address the magnitude, dynamics, and spatial patterns of ecosystem services at multiple scales in a sophisticated but accessible platform. MIMES explicitly address the linked dynamics and tradeoffs among natural, human, built and social capital.   Finally, the appropriate uses of economic incentives in managing ecosystem services are discussed, including Costa Rica's system of payments for ecosystem services and the idea of common asset trusts.


Dr. Robert Costanza is the Gordon and Lulie Gund Professor of Ecological Economics and director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont.  Dr. Costanza received BA and MA degrees in Architecture and  a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Sciences (Systems Ecology and Economics) all from the University of Florida.  Before Vermont, he was on the faculty at LSU and Maryland.


www.waterinstitute.ufl.edu<http://www.waterinstitute.ufl.edu/>