Le concept de service écosystémique en économie: origine et tendances récentes

Abstract

The notion of ecosystem, ecological and/or environmental service has enjoyed momentous development for several years in both scientific and policy arenas. While the current discourse considers this concept to be scientifically established, it seems necessary to retrace its origin and impact. This allows in particular better insight into the scientific controversies around this concept, the context in which it emerged and its diverse translations in terms of public policies. The purpose of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of this notion by focusing on economics. Three periods come to light: a period of emergence which starts at the beginning of 1970s concomitantly with that of environmental issues at the international level. This period gives way in 1997 to another which may be termed mediatisation, introduced by Costanza et al.'s publication (1997) and ending with the publication of the final report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. In the mid-2000s, there appears to be a growing trend to include the notion in political agendas, thus introducing what we call "the time of policy". This trend has ramified in several directions: the monetary evaluation of ecosystem services, its introduction in agricultural and environmental policies and payments for environmental services. © NSS-Dialogues, EDP Sciences 2012.