Economics of ecosystem services: theoretical and methodological foundations

The aim of the article. The aim of the article is deepening the theoretical and methodological foundations for the formation and development of economics of ecosystem services.The results of the analysis. Economics of ecosystem services is the sphere of natural and social development, which implies reproduction (production), exchange, distribution and consumption of different ecosystem goods and services, and formation of mechanisms and instruments of their evolving in the system of economic relations that is based on ecosystem management in the nature economy and various resources using.Economics of ecosystem services is based on application of the ecosystem approach to managing the nature economy, rational use, reproduction and protection of natural resources and the environment. Ecosystem approach represents a methodological framework to justify management decisions made by economic actors in development strategies and formation of methods of planning. This approach does not replace other strategies of environmental management and programs that are aimed to protect the environment preserve individual species of living organisms. It rather should facilitate the integration of all existing international and national programs and methods. The core of the process of the ecosystem approach forming for economic systems managing is ecosystem services. Ecosystem functions are the physical, chemical, and biological processes or attributes that contribute to the self-maintenance of an ecosystem; in other words, they show what the ecosystem does. Some examples of ecosystem functions are provision of wildlife habitat, carbon cycling, or the trapping of nutrients.Thus, the processes, or functions, that occur within them, such as wetlands, forests, or estuaries can characterize ecosystems,.Ecosystem services are the beneficial outcomes, for the natural environment or people that result from ecosystem functions. Some examples of ecosystem services are such as: support of the food chain, harvesting of animals or plants, and the provision of clean water or scenic views. In order for an ecosystem to provide services to humans, some interaction with humans is required. Thus, functions of ecosystems are value-neutral, while their services have value to society.Thus, the term ecosystem servicers is determined as the flows of economic benefits and values that economic actors and other stakeholders receive from the use of existing ecosystem functions, as well as those resulting from the generation, reproduction, regulation of ecosystem processes and which are formed as a result of targeted activities of various entities with different types of the ownership and hierarchical levels of management.Conclusions and directions of further researches. Definition of ecosystem services as an economic category is the central element of a comprehensive system of relationships between the functioning of natural ecosystems, economic activities and prosperity of society. The interrelation between concepts, ecosystem services and natural capital, natural resources, ecosystem functions deepen the essence-conceptual apparatus of the environmental economics. It is expedient to use some individual criteria and groups of determinants during the classification of ecosystem servicers such as: functional and regulatory features, ecosystem features, time features and group of organizational and economic features.Further researches should be addressed to the management, reproduction and protection of ecosystems and ecosystem services from the perspectives of implementation of the mechanism of nature management at different hierarchical levels.