ABSTRACT
The conceptual framework for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) presents people as an integral part of ecosystems and that a dynamic interaction exists between them and other parts of ecosystems, with the changing human condition driving, both directly and indirectly, changes in ecosystems and thereby causing changes in human wellbeing. The MEA identified four types of ecosystem services which interact with the constituents of human wellbeing: provisioning services: goods obtained from ecosystems, such as a supply of food and fibre; regulating services: benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, such as water and climate regulation; cultural services: non-material benefits that people obtain from ecosystems, such as landscapes; and supporting services: services necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services, such as soil formation and habitats. This chapter presents the issue surrounding the sustainability of transport and discusses the current methods by which one estimate and takes into account the potential impacts of transport operations and proposed transport projects.
