This is a general question, to which I hope to stimulate some discussion. For me, we tread a fine line, and it is important that, whilst highlighting the manifold benefits we gain from ecological and geological processes, we must be mindful of the intangible, and the need to retain extant and intact systems. At the end, we need a means to explain the role ecosystems play in our lives, to stakeholders and the general public, but whether the ecosystem service concept does this in order to adequately represent the intrinsic nature of things is up for debate. Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this.