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Summary Value of Ecosystem Services
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Summary of all lectures and relevant examinable readings.
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Course: Value of Ecosystem ServicesPART I: FRAMEWORKS .............................................................................................................. 2
Introduc8on .......................................................................................................................... 2
Classifica8ons and frameworks ............................................................................................ 4
A brief history of biodiversity ............................................................................................... 6
PART II: ES QUANTIFICATION .................................................................................................. 10
Ecosystem func8on, biodiversity and ES produc8on part I ................................................ 10
Ecosystem func8on, biodiversity and ES produc8on part II ............................................... 15
Quan8fying and mapping ES supply, flow and demand ..................................................... 19
Ecosystem services – Land use, ecosystem service change, and tradeoffs......................... 23
PART III: ES VALUES AND VALUATION ..................................................................................... 26
Economic valua8on I – Overview and theory ..................................................................... 26
Economic valua8on II - Valua8on methods ....................................................................... 30
Plural values and valua8on ................................................................................................. 41
Small islands ....................................................................................................................... 44
Delibera8ve Monetary Valua8on........................................................................................ 48
PART IV: ASSESSMENT AND DECISION MAKING ..................................................................... 54
Decision support tools ........................................................................................................ 54
, PART I: FRAMEWORKS
Understanding the context of ecosystem services and analytical
frameworks.
Introduc*on
Ecosystems provide different services (MEA, 2005):
• Provisioning services: products obtained from ecosystems (food, wood,
medicine, energy, fibres)
• RegulaPng services: benefits obtained from regulaPon of ecosystem processes
(water filtraPon, waste decomposiPon, crop pollinaPon, climate regulaPon,
disease control)
• Cultural services: nonmaterial benefits obtained from ecosystems (aesthePc,
spiritual, personal growth, leisure and fun)
• SupporPng services: services necessary for the producPon of all other
ecosystem services (soil formaPon, nutrient cycling, primary producPon)
Ecosystem valuaPon is a complex discipline as economists and ecologists oRen hold
contrdicPonary views: classically, ecologists have needed the economy to protect
nature, while economist have needed ecology as the scarcity of nature creates value
Historically, four milestones in academic literature on ecosystem services can be
idenPfied:
1. Westan (1977)
2. Daily (1997)
3. Costanza et al. (1997)
4. TEEB (2010)
AddiPonally, IPBES, like the IPCC, releases reports on the state of biodiversity. Like the
COP, there is also a Conference of ParPes of the ConvenPon on Biological Diversity.
Ecosystems are threatened enormously. A problem here is that the true value oRen
only becomes clear aRer what we valued is gone. A suggested soluPon is to put a
(monetary) value on ecosystems and their services before decisions or policies are
taken.
,Literature: Schröter, et al. (2014)
There are seven criPques on ecosystem services as a concept.
1. It is too anthropocentric
Counter-argument: the ES concept includes valid anthropocentric arguments.
2. It promotes of an exploitaPve human-nature relaPonship
Counter-argument: nonmaterial values can be covered in the cultural ES domain.
3. It distracts from conservaPon
Counter-argument: biodiversity underpins ecosystem services
4. It uses economic valuaPon
Counter-argument: using economic valuaPon does not necessarily involve
monePzaPon
5. It commodifies nature
Counter-argument: ES does not necessarily use market instruments
6. It has vague definiPons
Counter-argument: the vagueness fosters creaPvity and refinement and encourage
transdisciplinary research
7. It is too opPmisPc about normaPve aims
Counter-argument: total value freedom is impossible, and opPmism is a reflecPon
of the opPmisPc intenPon of researchers
Literature: Bouma & Van Beukering chapter 1
Because ESS benefit human well-being, improving the health of ecosystems will
improve human well-being as well.
Conclusion
• The most common used framework is the MEA (2005) framework
• Because human-wellbeing depends ESS, improving the health of ecosystems
will be beneficial to human health
• There are conflicPng views on the use of ecosystem services as a concept
, Classifica*ons and frameworks
Frameworks are a tool to organize and relate ideas about a research topic. They oRen
guide theorePcal and empirical research.
The choice of which framework to use depends, among others, on these things:
• Subject of study
• Context
• Research quesPons
• Disciplinary focus
• Scale and scope of the study
They oRen include expected or idenPfied causal link, such as a causal loop.
The difference between a model and a framework are that a model is already filled
in, a framework needs to be filled in.
Frameworks:
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005)
• Ecosystem services
o Provisioning services
o RegulaPng services
o Cultural services
o SupporPng services
• ConsPtuents of well-being -> leading to freedom of choice and acPon
o Security
o Basic material for good life
o Health
o Good social relaPons
TEEB framework (2010) (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity)
• Ecosystems & biodiversity
o Biophysical structure or process (e.g., vegetaPon, cover)
o FuncPon (e.g., slow water passage)
• Service (e.g., flood protecPon, products)
• Human well-being
o Benefits (e.g., contribuPon to health, safety)
o Value (e.g. WTP)
• Overarching: insPtuPons & human judgements
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