What is an ecosystem service? List any four important ecosystem services provided by the natural ecosystems. Are you in favour or against levying a charge on the service provided by the ecosystem?

The services that are provided by the ecosystem are called the ecosystem services. Four impotant ecosystem services are as follows:

a) Purification of air and water: by the process of photosynthesis, trees in exchange of CO₂ gives out O_2.

b) It provides habitat and food to the wildlife.

c) Commercially as well as medicinally important drugs are obtained from forest trees. E.g. Taxol an anti cancerous drug, obtained from the bark of Taxus brevifolia.

d) Provides aesthetic pleasure, have cultural and spiritual values.

No, I am not in the favour of levying charge because we cannot repay ecosystem for what it has been giving to us. We are alive only because of the services provided by the ecosystem. But we must understand our responsibilities towards ecosystem; only in this way we can repay the ecosystem.