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16 - Sustaining industrial activity and ecological quality: the potential role of an ecosystem services approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Lorraine Maltby ,
Achim Paetzold  and
Philip Warren
Edited by
Lesley C. Batty  and
Kevin B. Hallberg
Lorraine Maltby
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Achim Paetzold
Affiliation:
Catchment Science Centre, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Philip Warren
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Lesley C. Batty
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
Kevin B. Hallberg
Affiliation:
University of Wales, Bangor
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Summary

Introduction

Modern societies benefit greatly from the products of industry and ecosystems provide the raw materials and energy required to produce them. Societies also benefit from a wide range of other ecosystem services including the supply of food, fuel, fibre and water, the regulation of disease and climate, recreational opportunities and aesthetic enjoyment. However, there is a potential conflict between these two types of benefits as increased industrialisation is often associated with increased release of hazardous chemicals or habitat modification, which have the potential to degrade ecosystem services, including those required for continued industrial production and development.

Here we consider the relationship between industrialisation and environmental impact using the development of Sheffield's metal industries as a case study. We then go on to explore the broader question of ecological quality and how it is defined, before outlining a quality assessment framework based on ecosystem services that may provide a tool for managing ecosystems for the optimal delivery of services. Finally, we consider the global aspects of economic development, industrialisation and environmental degradation.

Environmental impacts of industry: Sheffield metal industries and the River Don

Sheffield is synonymous with steel and metal has been worked here since at least the Middle Ages. Early metal workers capitalised on the environmental resources provided by the region: fast flowing rivers for water power, oak woodlands for charcoal, iron ore for smelting and grit stone for grinding. Later the locally abundant coal became an important source of power.

Type
Chapter
Information
Ecology of Industrial Pollution , pp. 327 - 344
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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