Gretchen Daily. COURTESY OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY

We have shared stories from time to time about the challenges and about related opportunities for protected areas in countries around the world. Thanks to Yale360’s Diane Toomey for this interview in which an ecologist describes her work with the Chinese government as they re-conceive their national park system and their other protected areas in a country where little land remains undisturbed:

For Stanford University ecologist Gretchen Daily, nature isn’t only to be preserved for its own sake, but also for the value of the ecological services it provides, such as water filtration, carbon sequestration, and soil retention. Daily helped pioneer the concept of “ecosystem services,” and these days she applies those principles as she works with countries to develop land management strategies and determine which natural areas to prioritize for protection. Continue reading →