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The article introduces the concept of ecosystem services for a broad scientific readership in South Africa and contends that its attendant research offers a theme for the engagement of a diverse range of scientific disciplines and stakeholders in the development of sustainability science. It then provides an overview of published ecosystem service studies that have dealt with the country, revealing that there were large gaps in the information on these services. Research shows that human activities are contributing to a decline in the quantity and quality of these services. If the potential of research on ecosystem services are to be realized, more direct interaction and development of an interdisciplinary understanding between the different domains of science are required .