Ecosystem services as assessment endpoints for ecological risk assessment

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Risk Assessment
• Ecology

Background:

• Ecosystem services, crucial for human welfare, include essentials like food, water, and clean air.
• Despite recognition, ecosystem services have not been widely integrated into US ecological risk assessment practices.
• Conventional ecological risk assessment endpoints focus on ecosystem states, not directly on human benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To formally incorporate ecosystem services into ecological risk assessment frameworks in the United States.
• To introduce generic endpoints based on ecosystem services (ES-GEAE) to complement existing assessment endpoints.
• To enhance the linkage between ecological risks and human well-being in environmental decision-making.

Main Methods:

• The US Environmental Protection Agency's Risk Assessment Forum introduced generic endpoints based on ecosystem services (ES-GEAE).
• These ES-GEAEs, like conventional generic ecological assessment endpoints (GEAEs), are defined by an entity and an attribute.
• ES-GEAEs are broadly described and require specific application in individual risk assessments.

Main Results:

• Ecosystem service endpoints provide a conceptual and analytical step beyond conventional endpoints.
• ES-GEAEs complement traditional endpoints by connecting ecological states to human-benefiting goods and services.
• Conventional endpoints can be linked to ecosystem services even without explicit consideration during problem formulation.

Conclusions:

• Adopting ecosystem services as assessment endpoints improves the value of risk assessment for environmental decision-making.
• This integration enhances the communication of ecological risks by explicitly linking them to human well-being.
• The new ES-GEAEs facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of ecological impacts on human welfare.