"The majority of the ecosystem is under the water, " Whitehouse said.

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Furthermore, protected areas supply a range of ecosystem services to societies such as clean water, wild food and genetic material.

UNESCO: 2010 UK and Ireland Fellows

The agreement calls for the water system to be treated as a single complex ecosystem made up of countless tributaries, underground aquifers and smaller lakes all held in the Great Lakes basin.

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The degradation of water quality in surface and groundwater systems is further exacerbating water scarcity and negatively impacting our natural environment and the ecosystem services and goods that it provides, jeopardizing food security and livelihoods.

UNESCO: World Water Day 22 March 2010: Clean Water for a Healthy World

We also spotlighted the Networking Nature exhibit at the Venice Biennale -- a small ecosystem that lives off of seawater and produces fresh drinking water.

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Permaculture also takes all the things we need -- our housing, energy sources, food and water supplies -- and tailors them to fit into the natural rhythms of the ecosystem.

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Biodiversity, which includes species, ecosystems, and ecological processes, is essential for the long-term maintenance of ecosystem services like photosynthesis, nutrient recycling, soil fertility, provision of fresh water, disaster prevention, and many others.

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Wetlands deliver essential ecosystem services, or the benefits people obtain from nature, including acting as regulators and providers of water.

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Ms. KING: Well, it's - people are becoming more aware of what an ecosystem is and the importance of it interacting, the creatures and people and plants and the land and water interacting with each other.

NPR: Rocky Mountain Activist Carole King