Download or read book Valuing forest ecosystem services a training manual for planners and project developers written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-02-28 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The degradation of ecosystems, including forests, and the associated loss of biodiversity, particularly due to human-induced threats and climate change, has gained increased attention from scientists and policymakers. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment presented a new conceptual framework that puts ecosystem services at the centre and links human well-being to the impacts on ecosystems of changes in natural resources. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity initiative drew further attention to the economic benefits of conserving ecosystems and biodiversity, supporting the idea that economic instruments – if appropriately applied, developed and interpreted – can inform policy- and decision-making processes. Only a few ecosystem services, however, have explicit market value and are traded in open markets: many – especially those categorized as having “passive-use” value – remain invisible and are rarely accounted for in traditional economic systems. The failure to appropriately consider the full economic value of ecosystem services in decision making enables the continued degradation and loss of ecosystems and biodiversity. Most ecosystem services are considered public goods and tend to be overexploited by society. Many methods have been applied to the economic valuation of ecosystem services. The use of these methods, as well as the interpretation of their results, requires familiarity with the ecological, political, normative and socio-economic context and the science of economics. Recognizing, demonstrating and capturing the value of ecosystem services can play an important role in setting policy directions for ecosystem management and conservation and thus in increasing the provision of ecosystem services and their contributions to human well-being. The aim of this manual is to enhance understanding of ecosystem services and their valuation. The specific target group comprises governmental officers in planning units and field-level officers and practitioners in key government departments in Bangladesh responsible for project development, including the Ministry of Environment and Forests and its agencies. Most of the examples and case studies presented herein, therefore, are tailored to the Bangladesh context, but the general concepts, approaches and methods can be applied to a broad spectrum of situations. This manual focuses on valuing forest-related ecosystem services, including those provided by trees outside forests. It is expected to improve valuation efforts and help ensure the better use of such values in policymaking and decision making. Among other things, the manual explores the basics of financial mathematics (e.g. the time value of money; discounting; cost–benefit analysis; and profitability and risk indicators); the main methods of economic valuation; examples of the valuation of selected ecosystem services; and inputs for considering values in decision making.
Download or read book Forests and Water written by United Nations and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The objectives of this study are to further improve our understanding about the ways in which payments for ecosystem services schemes can be applied to forests, in particular focusing on forest's hydrological functions for the mutual benefit of both humans and the environment. In addition, the study covers advances and challenges facing these schemes and provides practical guidance for policymakers and practitioners. This study contains the most comprehensive currently available database of case studies on forest-water related payment for ecosystem services schemes in the UNECE region.
Download or read book Trees at Work written by Forest Service (U.S.) and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2017 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This guide showcases the increasing interest in ecosystem services, discusses the motivations for valuations of FES (forest ecosystem services) at the State level, and places this work in the context of economic accounting. Readers may be interested in this report to expand their understanding of approaches used and value forest ecosystem services. However, the intended target audience for this report is State forestry officials charged with requesting, selecting, guiding, and evaluating the results of FES assessments in their states. Foresters, construction officials utilizing forest based products, educators, instructors and students in the fields of environmental science and forestry, environmentalists, and investors in the forest products category may also be interested in this work. Check out our Environment & Nature resources collection here:https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/environment-nature Trees & Forests collection here:https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/environment-nature Water Management collection here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/water-management
Download or read book Ecology Planning and Management of Urban Forests written by Margaret M. Carreiro and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-10-31 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trees and vegetation in cities aren’t just there to make the place look pretty. They have an important ecological function. This book contains studies and perspectives on urban forests from a broad array of basic and applied scientific disciplines including ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry, landscape ecology, plant community ecology, geography, and social science. The book includes contributions from experts around the world, allowing the reader to evaluate methods and management that are appropriate for particular geographic, environmental, and socio-political contexts.
Download or read book The Economics of Biodiversity Conservation written by K. N. Ninan and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 2012 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services is possibly the most powerful tool for halting the loss of biodiversity while maintaining incomes and livelihoods. Yet rarely have such approaches been applied to tropical forest ?hotspots?, which house the vast majority of the planets plant and animal species. This ground-breaking work is the most comprehensive and detailed examination of the economics of environmental valuation and biodiversity conservation to date. Focusing on the Western Ghats of India, one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world, this volume looks at a cross-section of local communities living within or near sanctuaries and reserve forests such as coffee growers, indigenous people and farmers-cum-pastoralists to assess the use and non-use values that people derive from tropical forests. It also looks at the extent of their dependence on forests for various goods and services, and examines their perceptions and attitudes towards biodiversity conservation and wildlife protection. The book concludes with an assessment of the institutional alternatives and policies for promoting biodiversity conservation through economic valuation methods. Related titles Economics for Collaborative Environmental Management (2005) 1-84407-095-6
Download or read book Economic Valuation of Forest Ecosystem Services written by Aline Chiabai and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By using ad hoc value transfer protocols, this paper offers a methodological contribution and provides accurate per hectare estimates of the economic value of some selected ecosystem services for all forest biomes in the world, identified following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment taxonomy MEA. The research also estimates potential total economic losses from policy inaction in year 2050. Final results show that total losses are significant. The total figure is €78 billion, the greatest losses coming from North America and Mexico, followed by Africa, Russia and some Asiatic countries. Most of this loss is attributable to provisioning services and carbon sequestration, while only a minor part is due to loss of cultural services. In terms of biomes the greatest losses are from boreal and warm mixed forests, followed by tropical forests. These results may be surprising to some who argue that it is the loss of tropical forests, particularly the Amazon, that is the most significant. A detailed analysis, shows, however, that this is not the case. The best estimates point to greater losses in areas where use and non-use values are highest, which includes North America.
Download or read book Valuing Ecosystem Services written by K N Ninan and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-29 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thought provoking book draws together prominent international authorities to discuss the key methodological issues and challenges in valuing ecosystem services. Covering a cross-section of ecosystems and services in different sites, countries and
Download or read book The Value of Forests written by and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, UNEP, FAO."
Download or read book Assessment and Valuation of Forest Ecosystem Services written by Seth Binder and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book How Much is an Ecosystem Worth written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The international community has committed itself to achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional, and national levels. Yet, despite growing awareness, and major efforts in all countries, the latest evidence indicates that biodiversity continues to be lost at a terrifying pace, resulting in what some call the greatest mass extinction since dinosaurs roamed the planet, 65 million years ago. A range of methods have been developed to value ecosystems, and the services they provide, as well as the costs of conservation. The methods available are increasingly sensitive, and robust, but they are often incorrectly used. One reason is poor understanding of the purposes of valuation and what questions it can, or cannot, answer. As a result, decision makers may get misleading guidance on the value of ecosystems, and their conservation. In this context, the Bank, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, and the Nature Conservancy have worked together to clarify the aims and uses of economic valuation, focusing on the types of questions that valuation can answer, and the type of valuation that is best suited to each purpose. How Much is an Ecosystem Worth? is the result of that cooperation. It aims to provide guidance on how economic valuation can be used to address specific, policy-relevant questions about nature conservation."
Download or read book Water Ecosystem Services written by Julia Martin-Ortega and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-03-26 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book uses ecosystem services-based approaches to address major global and regional water challenges, for researchers, students, and policy makers.
Download or read book Valuation of Regulating Services of Ecosystems written by Pushpam Kumar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-07-13 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Policy and management decisions are often made on financial grounds. However, the economic value of the benefits that people derive from ecosystems, that is, ecosystem services, may not be fully recognised and hence ecosystem considerations may not be incorporated adequately into decision-making processes. This is particularly true for regulating services, the benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, the valuation of which requires an interdisciplinary approach. In essence, valuation is a problem solving strategy and a problem is a problem, it does not respect the boundary of any particular discipline. The valuation of regulating services is an evolving field of ecological economics. In this book, Professor Pushpam Kumar and Professor Michael D. Wood have invited some of the foremost international experts in the field of ecosystem services valuation to contribute chapters on the valuation of regulating services and highlight some of the main obstacles to the implementation and acceptance of these methodologies in the context of decision-making. The contributors explore the theoretical underpinning of valuation of ecosystem services and demonstrate ways in which these theories can be applied to case-specific problems in order to inform decision-making processes. This collection clarifies some of the doubt and uncertainty regarding the valuation of regulating services. Innovative methodologies in this field have started to emerge and in coming years there may be much further discussion on this topic as methodologies and understanding continue to evolve. This is a highly active area of interdisciplinary research with far reaching social and environmental implications, and this book should be of interest to those who are new to the field, as well as established experts, in moving both theory and practice forward.
Download or read book Ecosystem services may provide large economic values in Kenya and Vietnam A value transfer application based on results from a systematic literature review written by Hettiarachchi, Upeksha and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2024-01-24 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study focuses on the valuation of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam, two countries that have received much attention from the international development community for their biodiversity significance, opportunities for scaling, climate and poverty challenges, and political will. Using The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) framework and the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), this study estimates per hectare values of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam based on a systematic literature review of studies on the values of ecosystem services in both countries. Provisioning services, such as medicines, timber, and non-timber forest products were better studied than regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services, underscoring the need for further research to better estimate the values of non-tangible services which would improve the estimation of total value of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam. To complement the national level analysis, we selected forest biomes to conduct a value transfer analysis. Forests provide ecosystem service benefits worth $25.78 billion for Kenya and $35.6 billion in Vietnam in 2022 USD. In comparison, the agricultural sector contributed $48.50 billion to Vietnam’s GDP and $24.10 billon to Kenya’s GDP in 2021. The per hectare values for ecosystem services are used in a value transfer analysis to estimate the total value of forest ecosystem services in Vietnam and Kenya. The average per hectare value of ecosystem services provided by forests in Kenya is $5,718.50 ha−1 yr−1 estimated within a range spanning $1,609.44 to $15,606.62 ha−1 yr−1 , while Vietnam's forests demonstrate an average value of $3,650.20 ha−1 yr−1 , with a range of $84.93 to $8,978.16 ha−1 yr−1 . We project the loss of forests into 2050 and estimate the annual economic loss of ecosystem services at $48.08 million for Kenya and $76.29 million for Vietnam, respectively, if deforestation and forest degradation continue at the current rates. Our approach presents a comprehensive overview of diverse ecosystem services, equipping policymakers with a nuanced comprehension of ecosystems’ inherent value. By consolidating values from the literature into a national-level estimate, we provide compelling evidence at a broader scale for informed decision-making. Despite the well-known limitations of value transfer method and with caveats, the values presented in our paper can provide a guiding reference for incorporating these estimations into broader policymaking endeavors.
Download or read book Approaches and tools for assessing mountain forest ecosystem services written by Baral, H. and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 2018-01-16 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mountain forest ecosystems provide a wide range of direct and indirect contributions to the people who live in the mountains and surrounding areas. Occupying steep slopes at high elevation, these ecosystems provide services such as stabilizing slopes, regulating hydrological cycles, maintaining rich biodiversity and supporting the livelihoods of those who are diverse in culture but vulnerable to poverty and food security. This paper (i) reviews several tools for assessing the sociocultural, economic and ecological values of mountain forest ecosystem services, (ii) demonstrates case studies of tool applications from several countries namely, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Iran and Nepal, and (iii) discusses assessment challenges that should be considered in the application of these tools. In Bhutan, an application of benefit transfer showed that the average total value of forest ecosystem services was over USD 14.5 billion per year. In India, an application of stakeholder and household analyses indicated that a total of 29 different ecosystem services are available and sustain livelihoods of local communities near the Maguri Mottapung wetland. In Indonesia, an application of Q methodology identified anticipated benefits and concerns of forest watershed stakeholders related to certification applications for a payment for ecosystem services. In Iran, an application of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs Tool showed that the regulation of ecosystem services has been declining in Hyrcanian forests despite the forests’ critical roles in the region. In Nepal, an application of a spatial analytical approach and participatory assessment techniques identified key mountain ecosystem services for community forests at the Charnawolti sub-watershed of Dolakha, and demonstrated forest restoration on degraded lands over the last two decades. Several challenges exist for the assessment of mountain forest ecosystem services and these must be reflected in assessment design. These challenges include the complexity of defining and classifying ecosystem services; limited availability of data on ecosystem services; uncertainties associated with climate change; complex relationships among services including trade-offs and synergies; and limitation of assessments to build successful payments for ecosystem services.
Download or read book The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Ecological and Economic Foundations written by Pushpam Kumar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-12-20 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human well-being relies critically on ecosystem services provided by nature. Examples include water and air quality regulation, nutrient cycling and decomposition, plant pollination and flood control, all of which are dependent on biodiversity. They are predominantly public goods with limited or no markets and do not command any price in the conventional economic system, so their loss is often not detected and continues unaddressed and unabated. This in turn not only impacts human well-being, but also seriously undermines the sustainability of the economic system. It is against this background that TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project was set up in 2007 and led by the United Nations Environment Programme to provide a comprehensive global assessment of economic aspects of these issues. This book, written by a team of international experts, represents the scientific state of the art, providing a comprehensive assessment of the fundamental ecological and economic principles of measuring and valuing ecosystem services and biodiversity, and showing how these can be mainstreamed into public policies. This volume and subsequent TEEB outputs will provide the authoritative knowledge and guidance to drive forward the biodiversity conservation agenda for the next decade.
Download or read book Valuation of Ecosystem Services of Tropical Mixed Deciduous Forests written by Prakash Chandra Mishra and published by Walnut Publication. This book was released on 2021-04-08 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is based on my scientific study on a Protected Area. This PA is inhabited by many villages and is situated very close to Tata Steel Township, Jharkhand, India. These forests serve as the socio-economic backbone for thousands of poor villagers living in and around this Sanctuary. Lack of clear policy goals in governance and poor institutional frame work along with inadequate information on ever increasing demand of ecosystem services, has led to many catastrophic irreversible ecosystem damages. Quantitative evidences on economic value needs to be generated because many consequential benefits are not tradable in the markets. In this study, I have valued some of the major tangible ecosystem services such as; carbon, oxygen, fuel wood, fodder, non-timber forest products, supply of quality drinking water and recreation, through scientific methods. The ecosystem service value is not taken in to account in the Nation's GDP and thereby, never influenced the decision making bodies of the Government towards sustainable ecosystem management efforts. This PA is also highly damaged by incessant disturbances to fauna, flora assemblages and their micro-ecological intricacies. This study is an effort to reorient the policy priorities so as to effectively conserve our precious heritage for the future generations.
Download or read book The role of forest ecosystem services to support the green recovery written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2023-08-02 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forests are an important component of natural capital and deliver a broad range of ecosystem services that underpin human well-being. The extent and condition of forests in many parts of the world, however, have declined dramatically during the preceding decades due to unsustainable harvesting of timber, forest fires, urbanization, and conversion to agriculture. At the same time the acknowledged importance of forest ecosystem services (FES) continues to grow, particularly the need for climate change mitigation and adaptation. This paper is a background document developed for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) report on The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) 2022. It reflects the results of a collaboration between FAO and the Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) to update the Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (ESVD). The compilation of systematically reviewed and standardized economic values of FES consolidated in the ESVD includes value estimates for all FES in nine forest ecosystem types and mangroves as per The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) classifications. This paper offers an improved understanding of the role of forests in sustainable development, and highlights the potential of forests to provide a pathway towards greater resilience and a green recovery.
