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The empirical findings regarding the transfer validity of benefit transfer methods for environmental policy evaluation have been mixed. In this paper the value function from a contingent valuation exercise that estimates the value to the Irish general public of achieving good ecological status, as specified in the Water Framework Directive, are transferred to a spatial microsimulated population within individual water management units (WMUs) across Ireland. The welfare estimates from this novel value function based transfer approach are compared against the results from previous primary valuation studies in one of the WMUs and transfer errors are found to be low. The proposed spatial microsimulation value transfer approach controls for the heterogeneous distribution of populations across the WMUs and for the fact that the willingness to pay will vary according to an individual’s geographic proximity to the water body within each catchment and with the current ecological status of the WMU.

The Ecological Footprint can inform benefit transfer estimates of ecosystem services by considering the different productivity of land-types. In this paper, ecosystem service values are used to calculate Ecosystem Service Yield Factors (ES-YFs) for the world countries as monetary-based alternative to resource-based Yield Factors (YFs). These scaling factors are context-dependent and can be used for transferring ecosystem service values calculated in different locations for cropland, grazing land and forest. The ES-YFs were further used to calculate Biocapacity Economic Values (BEVs) that represent natural capital values and can be used for environmental economic accounting and as a component of wellbeing indicators. Besides improving the accuracy and feasibility of the benefit transfer method, the ES-YFs can inform natural resource management towards more sustainable options and allows for comparison with economic values in markets sensible to asymmetry, incomplete information, unfairness and unethical behaviours.

Ecosystem Services (ESs) are bundles of natural processes and functions that are essential for human well-being, subsistence, and livelihoods. The ‘Green Revolution’ (GR) has substantial impact on the agricultural landscape and ESs in India. However, the effects of GR on ESs have not been adequately documented and analyzed. This leads to the main hypothesis of this work – ‘the incremental trend of ESs in India is mainly prompted by GR led agricultural innovations that took place during 1960 - 1970’. The analysis was carried out through five successive steps. First, the spatiotemporal Ecosystem Service Values (ESVs) in Billion US$ for 1985, 1995, and 2005 were estimated using several value transfer approaches. Second, the sensitivity and elasticity of different ESs to land conversion were carried out using coefficient of sensitivity and coefficient of elasticity. Third, the Geographically Weighted Regression model was performed using five explanatory factors, i.e., total crop area, crop production, crop yield, net irrigated area, and cropping intensity, to explore the cumulative and individual effects of these driving factors on ESVs. Fourth, Multi-Layer Perceptron based Artificial Neural Network was employed to estimate the normalized importance of these explanatory factors. Fifth, simple and multiple linear regression modeling was done to assess the linear associations between the driving factors and the ESs. During the observation periods, cropland, forestland and water bodies contributed to 80%–90% of ESVs, followed by grassland, mangrove, wetland and urban built-up. In all three evaluation years, the highest estimated ESVs among the nine ES categories was provided by water regulation, followed by soil formation and soil-water retention, biodiversity maintenance, waste treatment, climate regulation, and greenhouse gas regulation. Among the five explanatory factors, total crop area, crop production, and net irrigated area showed strong positive associations with ESVs, while cropping intensity exhibited a negative association. Therefore, the study reveals a strong association between GR led agricultural expansion and ESVs in India. This study suggests that there should be an urgent need for formulation of rigorous ecosystem management strategies and policies to preserve ecological integrity and flow of uninterrupted ESs and to sustain human well-being.

Ecosystem accounting has become one of the key components in the revision of international statistical standards. Expansion of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting for ecosystem services follows the rapid progress of science in this area as well as expanding applications to sustainability challenges. In this contribution, we discuss approaches to accounting of ecosystem assets as a natural capital basis that is critical for ecosystem service delivery. Based on examples from the Czech Republic, a Central European country, we illustrate the construction of ecosystem extent accounts based on the methodology of Land and Ecosystem Accounting. This analysis is complemented by monetary ecosystem asset accounting through quantification of the present value of future ecosystem service flows. Ecosystem condition is represented by the Mean Species Abundance indicator, which gauges the direction of ecosystem naturalness. Based on the demonstration of approaches to ecosystem asset accounting, we discuss selected aspects of ecosystem condition measurements, valuation, and policy implications of ecosystem asset accounting at the national level.

Mapping of ecosystem services' (ESS) values means valuing ESS in monetary terms across a relatively large geographical area and assessing how values vary across space. Thereby, mapping of ESS values reveals additional information as compared to traditional site-specific ESS valuation, which is beneficial for designing land use policies for maintaining ESS supply. Since the well-known article by Costanza et al. (1997), who mapped global ESS values, the number of publications mapping ESS values has grown exponentially, with almost 60% being published after 2007. Within this paper, we analyse and review articles that map ESS values. Our findings show that methodologies, in particular how spatial variations of ESS values are estimated, their spatial scope, rational and ESS focus differ widely. Still, most case studies rely on relatively simplistic approaches using land use/cover data as a proxy for ESS supply and its values. However, a tendency exists towards more sophisticated methodologies using the ESS models and value functions, which integrate a variety of spatial variables and which are validated against primary data. Based on our findings, we identify current practices and developments in the mapping of EES values and provide guidelines and recommendations for future applications and research.

Accepted manuscript version. Published version available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.07.005 The identification of spatial associations between perceived ecosystem values and physical landscapes is confronted by a diversity of mapping methods, heterogeneous human populations, and variability in physical landscape classification systems. This study reviews previous research on spatial associations and reports new empirical findings from Norway to describe the potential for spatial “value transfer” methods that extrapolate ecosystem values to other locations. Public participation GIS (PPGIS) survey methods were implemented in two separate study areas in Norway to identify ecosystem values and to analyze their spatial association with land cover data. The ecosystem value associations with land cover were generally consistent with global findings reported elsewhere, with forested areas providing multiple ecosystem “bundles” supporting both recreation-related and provisioning values. Alternative value transfer methods were demonstrated using recreation value to compare actual with predicted distributions using land cover indices derived from value proportions, deviations from expected distribution, and correlation coefficients with ecosystem value bundles. The use of simple ecosystem value percentages located within land cover classes provided the best predictive results for value transfer in this study. The limitations and potential for value transfer methods based on spatial associations between mapped ecosystem values and physical landscape characteristics are discussed.

Many countries in West Asia, defined in this study as the Arabic-speaking countries of the Arabian Peninsula plus Turkey and Iran, have enacted environmental conservation laws but regional underlying drivers of environment change, such as rising incomes and fast-growing populations, continue to put pressure on remaining wetlands. This paper aims to inform conservation efforts by presenting the first regional assessment of the economic value of coastal and freshwater wetlands in West Asia. Using scenario analysis we find that, dependent on the discount rate used, the present value of the regional economic loss of not protecting wetlands by 2050 is between US dollar 2.3 billion and US dollar 7.2 billion (expressed in 2007 US dollars). The method used for this assessment, however, is not suitable for expressing national realities adequately. We therefore suggest that detailed localized studies are conducted to improve insight into the drivers and the social and economic effects of wetland loss in West Asia.

This paper examines the value of ecosystem services provided by mangroves. It presents a meta-analysis of the economic valuation literature and applies the estimated value function to assess the value of mangroves in Southeast Asia. We construct a database containing 130 value estimates, largely for mangroves in Southeast Asia. Values are standardised to US$ per hectare per year in 2007 prices. The mean and median values are found to be 4185 and 239 US$/ha/year respectively. The values of mangrove ecosystem services are highly variable across study sites due to, amongst other factors, the bio-physical characteristics of the site and the socio-economic characteristics of the beneficiaries of ecosystem services. We include explanatory variables in the meta-analysis to account for these influences on estimated mangrove values. A geographic information system (GIS) is used to quantify potentially important spatial variables, including the abundance of mangroves, the population of beneficiaries, and the density of roads in the vicinity of each study site. The meta-analytic value function is used to estimate the change in value of mangrove ecosystem services in Southeast Asia under a baseline scenario of mangrove loss for the period 2000-2050. The estimated foregone annual benefits in 2050 are US$ 2.2 billion, with a prediction interval of US$ 1.6-2.8 billion. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

The paper argues that monetary valuation of ecosystem services for ecosystem accounting needs to be sensitive to institutional context, when simulating markets to generate exchange values where none was available previously and when conducting value generalisation that extrapolates exchange values from specific sites to the whole acounting area. The same ecosystem type can contain different governance regimes or, conversely, a single governance regime may be present in many ecosystem types. Governance regimes are, in part, determined by ecosystem type and condition, but also by ecosystem access characteristics which vary over urban-rural gradients. An ecosystem service will not have a single price if costs of supply and transaction vary in space. This is generally true for all accounting compatible valuation methods if they are extrapolated across different market contexts, but require particular attention if markets are simulated for specific locations and then assumed to be generally valid for the accounting area. The paper exemplifies this for different institutional settings for exchange values of recreation services exploring the general recommendation in SEEA EA for making valuation methods sensitive to institutional context. Stated preference methods simulate markets for ecosystem services. The paper then reviews non-market stated preference valuation studies that have been sensitive to institutional design. Findings on institutional design are, therefore, specifically relevant for simulation of market exchange values for the purpose of compiling monetary ecosystem accounts. The paper finds that disregard for the institutional context in valuation for ecosystem accounting can lead to: (i) errors of generalisation/aggregation and (ii) downward ‘bias’ in simulated accounting prices (relative to the status quo of the institutional context). simulated exchange value (SEV), recreation services, System of Environmental and Economic Accounts Ecosystem Accounts (SEEA EA), value transfer, value generalisation, stated preference, non-market valuation, monetary accounts