Valuing Nature: Should We Put a Price on Ecosystems? (FutureLearn)

Offered by University of Exeter,
Valuing Nature: Should We Put a Price on Ecosystems? (FutureLearn)

Discover the many ways that we benefit from the natural world through ecosystem services. There are many services that ecosystems provide that we never even consider, until we destroy them. Natural ecosystems help alleviate flooding, improve food security and protect our coastlines. Yet we consistently replace these ecosystems with manmade alternatives.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

If we put a price on nature, will it help us to protect these important ecosystems? And is it morally right to put a price on nature? Get answers with this course that uses an interdisciplinary approach to explore the ins and outs of how we value nature.

Syllabus

Week 1: Putting a Price on Nature
Week 2: Ecosystem Services in Action

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Describe the concept of 'valuing nature’
  • Compare different types of services that ecosystems provide
  • Assess the moral and political dilemmas associated with valuing ecosystems
  • Apply your understanding of ecosystem services to peatlands, coral reefs and rainforests
  • Identify key ecosystem services in your place
  • Investigate the best ways to manage and preserve ecosystems and their services
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

International Business I (Coursera) Coursera
University of New Mexico

International Business I (Coursera)

We live in a world of intensifying global relationships, one in which international business has become the key determinant of economic development and prosperity. This course, Global Business Environment, Part I, introduces students to a fundamental understanding of the socioeconomic political, cultural, and linguistic environment in which international businesses operate.

Nov 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Fashion Values: Nature (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
London College of Fashion

Fashion Values: Nature (FutureLearn)

Understand biodiversity in the context of fashion and create a plan for fashion that protects our earth’s systems. Discover fashion practices that can protect, restore, and regenerate ecosystems. Nature is the life force that provides us with the air, water, soil, and minerals that sustain life on earth. These elements come together in the clothes we wear. This course will help you build the knowledge, skills, and connections to reimagine fashion’s practices and develop a plan to put nature first.

Available now
4 Weeks
Mindfulness and Well-being: Peace in, Peace Out (Coursera) Coursera
Rice University

Mindfulness and Well-being: Peace in, Peace Out (Coursera)

The purpose of this course is to introduce mindfulness as a robust tool for spiritual development. Highlighting its rich traditional roots, the course explores the capacity of mindfulness to expand understanding about the nature of human consciousness and facilitate certain transcendent emotional experiences, including awe, wonder and flow.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks
Environmental Challenges: Scarcity and Conflict in the Natural Environment (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Leeds

Environmental Challenges: Scarcity and Conflict in the Natural Environment (FutureLearn)

War and conflict can severely disrupt the governance of the environment. What is the impact on both people and the environment? This course explores three aspects of conflict and resource scarcity, and applies these to explore decision making and negotiation skills. Human conflict has both short and long term effects on the natural world.

Self Paced
2 Weeks
Innovative Environmental Management Models: Case Studies and Applications (edX) EdX
University System of Maryland - USM,USMx,University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science - UMCES,UMCES

Innovative Environmental Management Models: Case Studies and Applications (edX)

Utilizing extensive case studies of various ecosystems, you will learn how to effectively utilize science-based management to mitigate anthropogenic impacts and ensure resiliency and sustainability in your community. Case studies are the best means to analyze real world problems and assess viability of proposed solutions. We will explore a variety of ecosystems and determine how effectively they are managed given the specific challenges of each locale.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Tropical Coastal Ecosystems (edX) EdX
University of Queensland,UQx

Tropical Coastal Ecosystems (edX)

Take the challenge and understand problems and solutions to managing tropical coastal ecosystems. Do you want to develop the skills and knowledge needed to help preserve tropical coastal ecosystems? These habitats provide goods and services for hundreds of millions of people but human activities have led to their global decline.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Climate Adaptation in Africa (Coursera) Coursera
University of Cape Town

Climate Adaptation in Africa (Coursera)

This course explores why climate change adaptation is important in the African context. Africa is considered one to be one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change. Historically, climate-related hazards such as drought, flooding, pest and disease outbreaks, coastal storms and heat waves have had devastating impacts on people and the environment in which they live.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Introduction to the Arctic: Climate (Coursera) Coursera
University of Alberta

Introduction to the Arctic: Climate (Coursera)

The University of Alberta, the University of Tromso and the University of the Arctic invite you to explore this four week course that examines the environment and climate of the circumpolar North. This course is the result of an international collaboration and provides you with an insight into our planet's North. Following an overview of regional geography, we will focus on the cryosphere (ice), as well as the atmosphere and ocean of the region.

Nov 16th 2026
4 Weeks
Introduction to Sustainability (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Introduction to Sustainability (Coursera)

This course introduces the academic approach of Sustainability and explores how today’s human societies can endure in the face of global change, ecosystem degradation and resource limitations. The course focuses on key knowledge areas of sustainability theory and practice, including population, ecosystems, global change, energy, agriculture, water, environmental economics and policy, ethics, and cultural history.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Environmental Challenges: Human Impact in the Natural Environment (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Leeds

Environmental Challenges: Human Impact in the Natural Environment (FutureLearn)

Complexity in nature arises from a myriad of simple interactions. How can this lead to an unpredictable dynamism? Complex patterns in ecology are not always causal and predictable. Populations have their own dynamics that can be independent of external environmental conditions. In this course we look at the way that natural systems are organised; although living systems are complex, there are also some fairly constant patterns and relationships.

Self Paced
2 Weeks
Introduction to Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Deakin University

Introduction to Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis (FutureLearn)

Boost your sustainability career as you gain the practical skills to conduct an environmental cost-benefit analysis. This two-week course will arm you with the skills to be able to choose and implement strategies for carbon reduction in your organisation. What’s more, you’ll gain expertise in environmental cost-benefit analysis to translate climate action into real value for your company.

Aug 28th 2023
2 Weeks