A framework for the social valuation of ecosystem services

Methods to assess ecosystem services using ecological or economic approaches are considerably better defined than methods for the social approach. To identify why the social approach remains unclear, we reviewed current trends in the literature. We found two main reasons: (i) the cultural ecosystem services are usually used to represent the whole social approach, and (ii) the economic valuation based on social preferences is typically included in the social approach. Next, we proposed a framework for the social valuation of ecosystem services that provides alternatives to economics methods, enables comparison across studies, and supports decision-making in land planning and management. The framework includes the agreements emerged from the review, such as considering spatial–temporal flows, including stakeholders from all social ranges, and using two complementary methods to value ecosystem services. Finally, we provided practical recommendations learned from the application of the proposed framework in a case study.

[1]  Thomas L. Saaty,et al.  Multicriteria Decision Making: The Analytic Hierarchy Process: Planning, Priority Setting, Resource Allocation , 1990 .

[2]  R. Freeman.  Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach , 2010 .

[3]  J. J. Roberts,et al.  States of America , 1993 .

[4]  S. Funtowicz,et al.  The worth of a songbird: ecological economics as a post-normal science , 1994 .

[5]  Miguel Ángel Martínez.  Técnicas cualitativas de investigación social: reflexión metodológica y práctica profesional , 1997 .

[6]  G. Daily.  Nature's services: societal dependence on natural ecosystems. , 1998 .

[7]  S. Carpenter,et al.  ECONOMIC VALUATION OF FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THE UNITED STATES: 1971-1997 , 1999 .

[8]  R. Abt,et al.  Ascribing value to ecological processes: an economic view of environmental change , 1999 .

[9]  Miguel S. Vallés.  Técnicas cualitativas de investigación social , 1999 .

[10]  Harvey Alexander.  Nature's services: Societal dependence on natural ecosystems: Edited by Gretchen C. Daily Island Press, 1997, $24.95, 392 pages , 1999 .

[11]  R. Costanza.  Social Goals and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services , 2000, Ecosystems.

[12]  Theodor J. Stewart,et al.  Multiple criteria decision analysis - an integrated approach , 2001 .

[13]  C. S. Holling,et al.  Resilience and Sustainable Development: Building Adaptive Capacity in a World of Transformations , 2002, Ambio.

[14]  S. Vermeulen,et al.  Integrating global and local values: a review of biodiversity assessment. , 2002 .

[15]  Theodor J. Stewart,et al.  Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis , 2001 .

[16]  Theodor J. Stewart,et al.  An Integrated Approach to MCDA , 2002 .

[17]  R. D. Groot,et al.  A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services , 2002 .

[18]  R. Moss,et al.  Ecosystems and human well-being: a framework for assessment , 2003 .

[19]  Philip Cooper,et al.  Valuing nature: lessons learned and future research directions , 2003 .

[20]  Y. Chee.  An ecological perspective on the valuation of ecosystem services , 2004 .

[21]  Alicia Castillo,et al.  Understanding the Interaction of Rural People with Ecosystems: A Case Study in a Tropical Dry Forest of Mexico , 2005, Ecosystems.

[22]  F. Comín,et al.  Wetland Restoration: Integrating Scientific-Technical, Economic, and Social Perspectives , 2005, Ecological Restoration.

[23]  J. Farley,et al.  An ecological integrity assessment of a Brazilian Atlantic Forest watershed based on surveys of stream health and local farmers' perceptions: implications for management , 2005 .

[24]  G. Daily,et al.  Ecosystem Services of Tropical Dry Forests: Insights from Long-term Ecological and Social Research on the Pacific Coast of Mexico , 2005 .

[25]  R. Ostfeld,et al.  A call to ecologists: measuring, analyzing, and managing ecosystem services , 2005 .

[26]  F. Berkes,et al.  Knowledge, Learning and the Evolution of Conservation Practice for Social-Ecological System Resilience , 2006 .

[27]  R. D. Groot,et al.  Spatial scales, stakeholders and the valuation of ecosystem services , 2006 .

[28]  B. Crona,et al.  The return of ecosystem goods and services in replanted mangrove forests: perspectives from local communities in Kenya , 2007, Environmental Conservation.

[29]  R. Leemans,et al.  A stakeholder dialogue on European vulnerability , 2008 .

[30]  R. Cowling,et al.  An operational model for mainstreaming ecosystem services for implementation , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[31]  Jacqueline de Chazal,et al.  Including multiple differing stakeholder values into vulnerability assessments of socio-ecological systems , 2008 .

[32]  Pedro Martins da Silva,et al.  Indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem services: a synthesis across ecosystems and spatial scales , 2009 .

[33]  P. Burgess,et al.  Application of an ecosystem function framework to perceptions of community woodlands , 2009 .

[34]  G. Kallis,et al.  Participation and evaluation for sustainable river basin governance , 2009 .

[35]  Christina C. Hicks,et al.  Trade-Offs in Values Assigned to Ecological Goods and Services Associated with Different Coral Reef Management Strategies , 2009 .

[36]  Bernard De Baets,et al.  Improving tractability of group decision making on environmental problems through the use of social intensities of preferences , 2009, Environ. Model. Softw..

[37]  D. Q. Kellogg,et al.  Coastal Lagoons and Climate Change: Ecological and Social Ramifications in U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ecosystems , 2009 .

[38]  John McGregor,et al.  Ecosystems , 2009, J. Object Technol..

[39]  S. Menzel,et al.  Ecosystem Services as a Stakeholder‐Driven Concept for Conservation Science , 2009, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[40]  B. Bryan,et al.  Quantifying and Exploring Strategic Regional Priorities for Managing Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services Given Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives , 2010, Ecosystems.

[41]  J. Morris,et al.  Social and economic aspects of peatland management in Northern Europe, with particular reference to the English case , 2010 .

[42]  J. Spangenberg,et al.  Precisely incorrect? Monetising the value of ecosystem services § , 2010 .

[43]  Jacqueline de Chazal,et al.  Social representations of an alpine grassland landscape and socio-political discourses on rural development , 2010 .

[44]  J. Abrams,et al.  Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration , 2011 .

[45]  J. Reyes.  Public Participation and Socioecological Resilience , 2011 .

[46]  U. Pascual,et al.  Cost-benefit analysis in the context of ecosystem services for human well-being: A multidisciplinary critique , 2011 .

[47]  P. Olsson,et al.  Resilience and Sustainable Development 2 . 0 – , 2011 .

[48]  S. Lavorel,et al.  Stakeholder perceptions of grassland ecosystem services in relation to knowledge on soil fertility and biodiversity , 2011 .

[49]  M. Russell,et al.  Prioritization of Ecosystem Services Research: Tampa Bay Demonstration Project , 2011 .

[50]  H. Hager,et al.  Farmers’ Assessment of the Social and Ecological Values of Land Uses in Central Highland Ethiopia , 2011, Environmental management.

[51]  J. Burger.  Valuation of environmental quality and eco-cultural attributes in Northwestern Idaho: Native Americans are more concerned than Caucasians. , 2011, Environmental research.

[52]  A. Braimoh,et al.  An Indicator-Based Integrated Assessment of Ecosystem Change and Human-Well-Being: Selected Case Studies from Indonesia, China and Japan , 2011 .

[53]  G. Edwards‐Jones,et al.  Mapping stakeholder values for coastal zone management , 2011 .

[54]  B. Bryan,et al.  Designing a Policy Mix and Sequence for Mitigating Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution in a Water Supply Catchment , 2011 .

[55]  W. S. Fisher,et al.  A Decision Support Framework for Science-Based, Multi-Stakeholder Deliberation: A Coral Reef Example , 2012, Environmental Management.

[56]  Carl Gunhouse.  America , 2012 .

[57]  P. Vihervaara,et al.  Ecosystem services of fast-growing tree plantations: A case study on integrating social valuations with land-use changes in Uruguay , 2012 .

[58]  J. Farley,et al.  Multifaceted Value Profiles of Forest Owner Categories in South Sweden: The River Helge å Catchment as a Case Study , 2013, AMBIO.

[59]  Rachelle K. Gould,et al.  Where are Cultural and Social in Ecosystem Services? A Framework for Constructive Engagement , 2012 .

[60]  B. Martín‐López,et al.  Evaluating Ecosystem Services in Transhumance Cultural Landscapes An Interdisciplinary and Participatory Framework , 2012 .

[61]  David S. Fox,et al.  New metrics for managing and sustaining the ocean's bounty , 2012 .

[62]  R. Costanza,et al.  Contributions of cultural services to the ecosystem services agenda , 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[63]  Erle C. Ellis,et al.  Mapping where ecologists work: biases in the global distribution of terrestrial ecological observations , 2012, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

[64]  J. Gonzalez,et al.  Uncovering Ecosystem Service Bundles through Social Preferences , 2012, PloS one.

[65]  P. Winkler,et al.  Quantifying ecosystem service trade-offs: the case of an urban floodplain in Vienna, Austria. , 2012, Journal of environmental management.

[66]  N. Quinn,et al.  The Identification of Potential Resilient Estuary-based Enterprises to Encourage Economic Empowerment in South Africa: a Toolkit Approach , 2012 .

[67]  K. Chan,et al.  Rethinking ecosystem services to better address and navigate cultural values , 2012 .

[68]  B. Martín‐López,et al.  The role of multi-functionality in social preferences toward semi-arid rural landscapes: An ecosystem service approach , 2012 .

[69]  M. Volk,et al.  Assessing the ecosystem services supplied by freshwater flows in Mediterranean agroecosystems , 2012 .

[70]  A. Newton,et al.  Cost–benefit analysis of ecological networks assessed through spatial analysis of ecosystem services , 2012 .

[71]  L. Brussaard,et al.  A method to assess ecosystem services developed from soil attributes with stakeholders and data of four arable farms. , 2012, The Science of the total environment.

[72]  J. Farley.  Ecosystem services: The economics debate , 2012 .

[73]  Greg Brown.  The relationship between social values for ecosystem services and global land cover: An empirical analysis , 2013 .

[74]  M. Onaindia,et al.  Perception, demand and user contribution to ecosystem services in the Bilbao Metropolitan Greenbelt. , 2013, Journal of environmental management.

[75]  Roberta Aretano,et al.  People perception of landscape change effects on ecosystem services in small Mediterranean islands: A combination of subjective and objective assessments , 2013 .

[76]  E. Oteros‐Rozas,et al.  Assessing, mapping, and quantifying cultural ecosystem services at community level , 2013 .

[77]  C. Görg,et al.  Benefits and limitations of the ecosystem services concept in environmental policy and decision making: Some stakeholder perspectives , 2013 .

[78]  James Boyd,et al.  What data should we collect? A framework for identifying indicators of ecosystem contributions to human well-being , 2013 .

[79]  Mattia Trabucchi,et al.  Hierarchical priority setting for restoration in a watershed in NE Spain, based on assessments of soil erosion and ecosystem services , 2013, Regional Environmental Change.

[80]  Rachelle K. Gould,et al.  The Challenges of Incorporating Cultural Ecosystem Services into Environmental Assessment , 2013, AMBIO.

[81]  S. Polasky,et al.  Getting the measure of ecosystem services: a social–ecological approach , 2013 .

[82]  Christina C. Hicks,et al.  Synergies and tradeoffs in how managers, scientists, and fishers value coral reef ecosystem services , 2013 .

[83]  H. Nelson,et al.  Ecosystem Services and Beyond: Using Multiple Metaphors to Understand Human-Environment Relationships , 2013 .

[84]  R. Monson.  Ecology and the Environment , 2014, The Plant Sciences.

[85]  B. Martín‐López,et al.  Incorporating ecosystem services into ecosystem-based management to deal with complexity: a participative mental model approach , 2014, Landscape Ecology.

[86]  B. Martín‐López,et al.  Trade-offs across value-domains in ecosystem services assessment. , 2014 .

[87]  F. Al-Shamali,et al.  Author Biographies. , 2015, Journal of social work in disability & rehabilitation.

[88]  R. Likert.  “Technique for the Measurement of Attitudes, A” , 2022, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.