Box 3.1. Linkages between Ecosystem Services and Human Well-being:
Freedom of Choice and Action
(see figure on linkages in Box 3.1  ).
See also specific information for each main component:
"Freedom and choice refer to the ability of individuals to control what happens to them and to be able to achieve what they value doing or being. Freedom and choice cannot exist without the presence of the other elements of well-being, so there is an indirect influence of changes in all categories of ecosystem services on the attainment of this constituent of well-being. The influence of ecosystem change on freedom and choice is heavily mediated by socioeconomic circumstances. The wealthy and people living in countries with efficient governments and strong civil society can maintain freedom and choice even in the face of significant ecosystem change, while this would be impossible for the poor if, for example, the ecosystem change resulted in a loss of livelihood.
In the aggregate, the state of our knowledge about the impact that changing ecosystem conditions have on freedom and choice is severely limited. Declining provision of fuelwood and drinking water have been shown to increase the amount of time needed to collect such basic necessities, which in turn reduces the amount of time available for education, employment, and care of family members. Such impacts are typically thought to be disproportionately experienced by women (although the empirical foundation for this view is relatively limited) (C5.4.2)."
Source & ©
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
 Synthesis Report (2005),
Chapter 3, p.54
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