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Projected losses of ecosystem services in the US disproportionately affect non-white and lower-income populations

Gourevitch, Jesse D. ; Alonso-Rodríguez, Aura M. ; Aristizábal, Natalia ; de Wit, Luz A. ; Kinnebrew, Eva ; Littlefield, Caitlin E. ; Moore, Maya ; Nicholson, Charles C. LU orcid ; Schwartz, Aaron J. and Ricketts, Taylor H. (2021) In Nature Communications 12.
Abstract

Addressing how ecosystem services (ES) are distributed among groups of people is critical for making conservation and environmental policy-making more equitable. Here, we evaluate the distribution and equity of changes in ES benefits across demographic and socioeconomic groups in the United States (US) between 2020 and 2100. Specifically, we use land cover and population projections to model potential shifts in the supply, demand, and benefits of the following ES: provision of clean air, protection against a vector-borne disease (West Nile virus), and crop pollination. Across the US, changes in ES benefits are unevenly distributed among socioeconomic and demographic groups and among rural and urban communities, but are relatively... (More)

Addressing how ecosystem services (ES) are distributed among groups of people is critical for making conservation and environmental policy-making more equitable. Here, we evaluate the distribution and equity of changes in ES benefits across demographic and socioeconomic groups in the United States (US) between 2020 and 2100. Specifically, we use land cover and population projections to model potential shifts in the supply, demand, and benefits of the following ES: provision of clean air, protection against a vector-borne disease (West Nile virus), and crop pollination. Across the US, changes in ES benefits are unevenly distributed among socioeconomic and demographic groups and among rural and urban communities, but are relatively uniform across geographic regions. In general, non-white, lower-income, and urban populations disproportionately bear the burden of declines in ES benefits. This is largely driven by the conversion of forests and wetlands to cropland and urban land cover in counties where these populations are expected to grow. In these locations, targeted land use policy interventions are required to avoid exacerbating inequalities already present in the US.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Nature Communications
volume
12
article number
3511
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • scopus:85107551775
  • pmid:34112778
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/s41467-021-23905-3
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c4b1ace8-6997-4063-bf1f-3a054e517466
date added to LUP
2021-07-01 14:10:29
date last changed
2024-06-29 14:14:49
@article{c4b1ace8-6997-4063-bf1f-3a054e517466,
  abstract     = {{<p>Addressing how ecosystem services (ES) are distributed among groups of people is critical for making conservation and environmental policy-making more equitable. Here, we evaluate the distribution and equity of changes in ES benefits across demographic and socioeconomic groups in the United States (US) between 2020 and 2100. Specifically, we use land cover and population projections to model potential shifts in the supply, demand, and benefits of the following ES: provision of clean air, protection against a vector-borne disease (West Nile virus), and crop pollination. Across the US, changes in ES benefits are unevenly distributed among socioeconomic and demographic groups and among rural and urban communities, but are relatively uniform across geographic regions. In general, non-white, lower-income, and urban populations disproportionately bear the burden of declines in ES benefits. This is largely driven by the conversion of forests and wetlands to cropland and urban land cover in counties where these populations are expected to grow. In these locations, targeted land use policy interventions are required to avoid exacerbating inequalities already present in the US.</p>}},
  author       = {{Gourevitch, Jesse D. and Alonso-Rodríguez, Aura M. and Aristizábal, Natalia and de Wit, Luz A. and Kinnebrew, Eva and Littlefield, Caitlin E. and Moore, Maya and Nicholson, Charles C. and Schwartz, Aaron J. and Ricketts, Taylor H.}},
  issn         = {{2041-1723}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Nature Communications}},
  title        = {{Projected losses of ecosystem services in the US disproportionately affect non-white and lower-income populations}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23905-3}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41467-021-23905-3}},
  volume       = {{12}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}