p.1 resilience is evaluated in terms of a natural capital, interpreted as an insurance
against the risk of a malfunctioning of the ecosystem and the consequent interruption of the provision of goods and
services to humans. For this purpose, we make use of a conceptual framework so as to identify and describe the different
value components of resilience.
p.2 The concept of resilience has found application in many different fields.
p.2 The lower the natural system’s capacity to adapt to changes, the higher is the risk for the system
to shift into a qualitatively different state. When such new state is undesirable, restoring the system to its previous state
can be complex, expensive and sometimes even impossible. In case of uncertainty and potential irreversibility of the change,
the interplay between stabilizing and destabilizing forces is then particularly relevant for the maintenance of ecosystems’
functioning.
p.3 Ecosystem functions are the result of interactions between its structure and processes. Ecosystem structure
refers to the tangible items... of which an ecosystem is composed. Ecosystem processes refer to the dynamics of transformation
of matter or energy between... systems... Ecosystems are characterized by a hierarchical structure, where each level comprises
a different temporal and spatial scale
p.4 The preservation of ecosystem processes and their consequent good functioning requires the preservation
of ecosystem resilience.
p.5 The simple and simplistic idea here is that a lack of prices is identical to a lack of values
[JLJ - perhaps our evaluation function for our game-playing machine should score our positions based on our values]
p.6 One can question why, when resilience generates so many benefits for humans, measured
in terms of the ability of an ecosystem to avoid the destructive and possibly irreversible consequences of crossing the thresholds
between stability domains, it has been ignored from the policy agenda [JLJ - one can also wonder why the
concept of resilience has been ignored for so long in the field of game theory]
p.7 A reduction in the systems’ resilience makes them more vulnerable to external perturbations,
which otherwise would have been absorbed without structural change (Folke et al., 1996).
p.8 The basic premise of economic valuation, and thus economic value of a resource, is the effect of the
supply of the same resource on the well-being of the individuals who make up the society. Therefore, if society wishes to
make the most in terms of individuals’ well-being maximisation, the issue of the assessment of the total economic value
of resilience benefits is a key issue in terms of policy decisions.
