Ecosystem services are inclusive and deliver multiple values. A comment on the concept of nature’s contributions to people

Abstract

A recent policy forum article in Science by Díaz et al. (2018) introduces nature’s contributions to people (NCP) as an innovative approach to inform policy and decisionmaking. According to the authors, the NCP concept extends beyond the notion of ecosystem services by incorporating a more inclusive and interdisciplinary approach. Here this claim is challenged. Based on our experiences in Europe, we argue that the science, policy and practice of ecosystem services have progressed much beyond a mere economic and ecological rationale.