Sustainability and the value of the ‘regulating’ services: Wetlands and water quality in Lake Victoria

摘要: Abstract The regulating services provided by ecosystems are amongst the most important for sustainability of resource use, and yet they also least understood. This paper considers one set mechanisms – buffering functions wetlands information needed to identify both value offered wetlands, their substitutes. Using data from a catchment discharging water nutrients Kenyan segment Lake Victoria, Yala catchment, models interactions between agriculture fisheries as mediated at lake margin. More particularly, it estimates forgone nutrient retention function involved in conversion wetland agriculture, scope providing same through land use change elsewhere catchment. total cost payments that would compensate farmers on-farm is 3.86 M US$ year− 1, or 35% gains crop production. finding contributes an understanding how might effectively be delivered alternative ways.