ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the ethical considerations of ecosystem services. Different people derive distinct types of benefits from ecosystems, informing the qualitative differences in the millennium assessment (MA) classification of ecosystem services. The concept of 'equity' relates to the fairness or justice in the way people are treated, a significant part of which stems from access to natural resources and services. The ecosystem services framework articulates interconnections between the multiple benefits provided by ecosystems, and the consequences of ecosystem use and management for all connected human beneficiaries (or victims). Intergenerational equity is fundamental to sustainable development, which necessarily demands maintaining functional ecosystems and flows of ecosystem services for future generations, whose needs cannot necessarily anticipate today. Recognition and engagement of different stakeholder groups, and respect for their diverse value systems, is essential for equitable decision-making founded on the fair sharing of ecosystems and their resources.
