The underlined word in "a growing societal recognition" means:

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           The Environmental Pillar of Sustainable Water: Ecological Services

Across the globe, increased demand and water mismanagement have put stress on water services. As a result, there has been a growing societal recognition of the need to look at sustainable solutions that allow for everyone to have access to clean water. There is growing recognition of the importance of ecological services (benefits arising from the ecological functions of healthy ecosystems) as part of a management strategy in new approaches. Ecological services imply that nature can also play a role in providing safe drinking water. Whether through source water protection or natural filtration, the environment can work in concert with technology to provide water in a reasonable, sustainable fashion.

                                              (From: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK50775/)