Humankind benefits in a multitude of ways from
ecosystems. Collectively, these benefits are becoming known as
ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are regularly involved in the provisioning of clean
drinking water and the
decomposition of wastes. While scientists and
environmentalists have discussed ecosystem services implicitly for decades, the ecosystem services concept itself was popularized by the
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) in the early 2000s. This grouped ecosystem services into four broad categories:
provisioning, such as the production of food and water;
regulating, such as the control of climate and disease;
supporting, such as
nutrient cycles and crop
pollination; and
cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits. To help inform decision-makers, many ecosystem services are being assigned economic values.