Box 1.1. Linkages among Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, and Human Well-being

Biodiversity represents the foundation of ecosystems that, through the services they provide, affect human well-being. These include provisioning services such as food, water, timber, and fiber; regulating services such as the regulation of climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water quality; cultural services such as recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, and spiritual fulfillment; and supporting services such as soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling (CF2). The MA considers human well-being to consist of five main components: the basic material needs for a good life, health, good social relations, security, and freedom of choice and action. Human well-being is the result of many factors, many directly or indirectly linked to biodiversity and ecosystem services while others are independent of these.

Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
  Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis (2005),
Chapter 4, p.64