Abstract

In France, the newly designed life and earth sciences programs for the Première Générale (second year of lycée) now include a segment dedicated to ecosystem services. The primary objective is to transition from an anthropocentric approach to an ecocentric approach, integrating the notion of ecosystem services (ES). Our article conducts an epistemological examination of the ES concept, scrutinizing its definition, the array of examples and services, the human role in the environment, monetization, and connections to environmental ethics. The analysis was conducted using a corpus comprising life and earth sciences curricula, textbooks, and online resources, which unveiled diverse examples and materials pertaining to ES. The ensuing discussion emphasizes the need to embrace uncertainty and complexity in order to transcend a positivist rationalization of the human-nature relationship.