What can the current debate on ecosystem services learn from the past? Lessons from economic ornithology

Abstract

Economic ornithology, the golden age of which was 1880s–1920s, can be seen as an antecedent of the concept of ecosystem services. In hundreds of publications, and with official support from prominent government institutions, especially the US Department of Agriculture, economic ornithology emphasized the economic value of services provided by birds. Economic ornithologists underlined the utilitarian character of nature to raise political support for conservation. They contributed to the elimination of bounty laws on birds and feather trade, and to the introduction of bird conservation legislation. However, economic ornithology remained relatively narrow and focused on its core task of identifying useful and harmful birds, especially from the point of view of agriculture. Such an anthropocentric approach, prioritizing narrow and measurable human economic interests, undermined the standing of economic ornithology. Probably most importantly, new developments in the area of industrial pest control made the most highlighted of the birds’ services obsolete. This article analyses similarities between economic ornithology and the concept of ecosystem services (in terms of their origins, development, argumentation for conservation, and criticism). It suggests that unless the proponents of ecosystem services carefully rethink the way they argue for environmental conservation, this concept may share the fate of economic ornithology. Moving beyond the narrow utilitarian and anthropocentric focus, and beyond emphasizing the monetary value of nature, are the most important implications for the current environmental conservation discourse based on the concept of ecosystem services.