Arbeitspapier

Ecosystem valuation: Some principles and a partial application

Understanding the economic value of nature and the services it provides to humanity has become increasingly important for local, national and global policy and decision making. However, problems arise in that it is difficult to obtain meaningful values for goods and services that ecosystems provide which have no formal market, or are characteristically intangible. Additional problems occur when economic methods are applied inappropriately and when the importance of ecosystem maintenance for human welfare is underestimated. In this article we provide clarification to practitioners on important considerations in ecosystem services valuation. We first review and adapt definitions of ecosystem services in order to make an operational link to valuation methods. We make a distinction between intermediate and final ecosystem services and also identify non-monetary ways to incorporate regulatory and support services into decision-making. We then discuss the spatially explicit nature of ecosystem service provision and benefits capture, and highlight the issues surrounding the valuing of marginal changes, non-linearities in service benefits, and the significance of non-convexities (threshold effects). Finally, we argue for a sequential decision support system that can lead to a more integrated and rigorous approach to ecosystem valuation and illustrate some of its features in an Afro-montane and a coastal ecosystem context.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: CSERGE Working Paper EDM ; No. 10-01

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Thema
Ecosystem services
Ecosystem valuation
Economic valuation
Umweltökonomik
Umwelt
Umweltgüter
Umweltschutz
Opportunitätskosten
Entscheidung

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Morse-Jones, Sian
Turner, R. Kerry
Fisher, Brendan
Luisetti, Tiziana
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
University of East Anglia, The Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE)
(wo)
Norwich
(wann)
2010

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:41 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Morse-Jones, Sian
  • Turner, R. Kerry
  • Fisher, Brendan
  • Luisetti, Tiziana
  • University of East Anglia, The Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE)

Entstanden

  • 2010

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