ECOSYSTEMS – FUNCTIONALITY AND STRUCTURES. ECOSYSTEMIC RELATIONS

Getting people aware – at individual and local level – of the ecosystem benefits and services is a complex phenomenon that starts with the evaluation of the existing natural heritage by the inhabitants and ends with the institutionalization of valorization through the establishment of rural institutions meant to protect the natural capital. In this context, people’s getting aware of the relation between local poverty and the underutilization of ecosystem goods and services represents one of the essential aspects of the awareness of the social and economic dimensions of ecosystems.