There are four types of ecosystem services: provisioning services (the supply of raw materials, food, etc.), regulating services (the climate, precipitation, self-purification of water, etc.), cultural services (aesthetic and recreational aspects), and the supporting services required for the first three ecosystem services to be functional (the carbon cycle, soil formation, etc.).

As the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) stated: Even if their value is estimated to be $125 thousand billion, these assets that are not taken into consideration as they should be in political and economic decisions, which means that we do not invest enough in their protection and management2.

These services are precious for human beings and nature, they have positive effects and must be preserved. Forests naturally contribute to the maintenance of healthy aquatic ecosystems, provide reliable sources of clean water and are a

source of renewable fuel. But the mismanagement of these services can produce negative effects, such as flooding or landslides due to deforestation. Therefore, it is imperative to learn how to live in harmony with nature. This partnership with living organisms is now reflected in the design of tomorrow s city, a subtle balance between biomimetic architecture, biodiversity and biotechnology.

Collective awareness about the importance of the living world

Today, the international community is facing up to the ecological emergency by gradually including this subject in its debates. 2012 saw the creation of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Also known as the biodiversity

2 - www.fao.org/ecosystem-services-biodiversity/fr/

Burdock flower, with its hooks that inspired the creation of the Velcro tape

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