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

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 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.

Socioecological Predicament on Global Steeply Sloped Cropland

“…This unsustainable agricultural expansion is common in disadvantaged regions (Barbier & Hochard, 2018; Kuang et al., 2022; von Braun & Gatzweiler, 2014). Environmental inequality seems to be rooted in socioeconomic inequality, which is consistent with previous research (Gourevitch et al., 2021; Wackernagel et al., 2021). To make matters worse, the degraded cropland on steep slopes and poverty may be mutually reinforcing.…”

How human health and well-being depends on healthy marine habitats in the Mediterranean: A review

“…Furthermore, the negative impacts more often affect the more vulnerable human populations globally: the well-being of poorer populations is more directly impacted by changes in ecosystems than that of wealthier populations ([ 1 , 103 ]). Historically, with increased demand from people from wealthier areas, poorer people face a disproportionate loss of access to ecosystem services ([ 1 , 104 ]). In particular, seafood provisioning is an important issue in low-income coastal regions, because the health of the communities living there, as in other parts of the world, often depends directly on locally productive ecosystems to meet their basic nutritional needs ([ 1 , 105 ]).…”

A European-Chinese Exploration: Part 2—Urban Ecosystem Service Patterns, Processes, and Contributions to Environmental Equity under Different Scenarios

“…In addition to the extensive research on the spatial and temporal dynamics of ES, the resulting environmental equity is also receiving increasing attention because it is essential for equitable urban policy making [54]. Recent studies show that the loss of ES equity can affect not only ethnic groups of people differently [55], it is also essential in order to attain the social inclusion that is part of SDG 11 [56]. Quantifying ES distribution patterns helps increase the understanding of its contribution to environmental equity and use it as an important reference for reallocating ecological resources.…”