Valuation of Ecosystem Services Provided by Biodiversity Conservation: An Integrated Hydrological and Economic Model to Value the Enhanced Nitrogen Retention in Renaturated Streams

The importance of ecosystem functions for humankind is well known. But only few attempts have been undertaken to estimate the economic value of these ecosystem services. In particular, indirect methods are rarely used, even though they are most suitable for the task. This discrepancy is because quantitative knowledge of changes in ecosystem functions is scarce. This paper presents a user-friendly procedure to quantify the increased N-retention in a renaturated river using easily available data. In a case study of the renaturated River Jossa (Germany) the benefits of increased nitrogen retention caused by beaver reintroduction are determined by using the replacement cost method. The quantification of chemical processes is discussed in detail, as well as the problems of defining an adequate reference scenario for the substitute costs. Results show that economic benefits from the evaluated ecosystem service (€12,000/annum) equal 12% of the total costs of the corresponding conservation scheme.

[1]  J. Dørge.  Modelling nitrogen transformations in freshwater wetlands. Estimating nitrogen retention and removal in natural wetlands in relation to their hydrology and nutrient loadings , 1994 .

[2]  A. Myrick Freeman,et al.  The Economic Value of Biodiversity , 1998 .

[3]  P. M. Gale,et al.  Denitrification potential of soils from constructed and natural wetlands , 1993 .

[4]  H. Vollebergh,et al.  Lessons from the Polder : Is Dutch CO 2-Taxation Optimal ? , 2004 .

[5]  A. Cavaliere,et al.  Price Competition with Information Disparities in a Vertically Differentiated Duopoly , 2004 .

[6]  Sergio Currarini,et al.  Coalition Formation in Games Without Synergies , 2004, IGTR.

[7]  M. Woo,et al.  Effects of Beaver Dams on Subarctic Wetland Hydrology , 1990 .

[8]  A. Alberini,et al.  Information and Willingness to Pay in a Contingent Valuation Study: The Value of S. Erasmo in the Lagoon of Venice , 2004 .

[9]  J. Hamilton,et al.  Climate and the Destination Choice of German Tourists , 2004 .

[10]  R. Musgrave,et al.  Die öffentlichen Finanzen in Theorie und Praxis , 1978 .

[11]  Marian L. Weber,et al.  Assessing the Effectiveness of Tradable Landuse Rights for Biodiversity Conservation: An Application to Canada's Boreal Mixedwood Forest , 2004 .

[12]  S. Hamilton,et al.  Control of Nitrogen Export from Watersheds by Headwater Streams , 2001, Science.

[13]  R. D. Hines,et al.  On Valuing Nature , 1991 .

[14]  C. M. Brooks,et al.  Modification of stream ecosystem structure and function by beaver (Castor canadensis) in the Adirondack Mountains, New York , 1991 .

[15]  Stef Proost,et al.  The Opening of the European Electricity Market and Environmental Policy: Does the Degree of Competition Matter? , 2003 .

[16]  Gernot Klepper,et al.  The EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Allowance Prices, Trade Flows, Competitiveness Effects , 2004 .

[17]  Anil Markandya,et al.  Empirical Analysis of National Income and SO2 Emissions in Selected European Countries , 2004 .

[18]  Edward B. Barbier.  Economics and Ecology , 1993 .

[19]  M. Harthun.  Einflüsse der Stauaktivität des Bibers (Castor fiber albicus) auf physikalische und chemische Parameter von Mittelgebirgs-Bächen (Hessen, Deutschland) , 2000 .

[20]  D. Pimentel,et al.  Economic and Environmental Benefits of Biodiversity , 1997 .

[21]  Trond Bjorndal,et al.  Output Substitution in Multi-Species Trawl Fisheries: Implications for Quota Setting , 2004 .

[22]  Horst Behrendt,et al.  Retention of nutrients in river systems: dependence on specific runoff and hydraulic load , 1999, Hydrobiologia.

[23]  K. Zander.  Der Einfluss von Information auf die Zahlungsbereitschaft , 2001 .

[24]  D. Pearce,et al.  Sustainable economic development: economic and ethical principles , 1993 .

[25]  T. Söderqvist,et al.  Ecological-economic analysis of wetlands; scientific integration for management and policy , 2000 .

[26]  J. Mburu,et al.  Wildlife Conservation and Management in Kenya: Towards a Co-Management Approach , 2004 .

[27]  Shlomo Weber,et al.  Strategic Immigration Policies and Welfare in Heterogeneous Countries , 2004 .

[28]  A. Sela,et al.  All-Pay Auctions with Weakly Risk-Averse Buyers , 2004 .

[29]  Reinhard Selten,et al.  Social Conformity in Games with Many Players , 2003 .

[30]  O. Byström.  The Replacement Value of Wetlands in Sweden , 2000 .

[31]  Monika Frielinghaus Müncheberg.  Mitteilungen der Deutschen Bodenkundlichen Gesellschaft , 1998 .

[32]  Javier Rey-Maquieira,et al.  Land, Environmental Externalities and Tourism Development , 2004 .

[33]  Marzio Galeotti,et al.  Weather Impacts on Natural, Social and Economic Systems (Wise) Part Ii: Individual Perception of Climate Extremes in Italy , 2004 .

[34]  Anna Alberini,et al.  Willingness to pay for mortality risk reductions: Does latency matter? , 2006 .

[35]  Anna Alberini,et al.  Willingness to pay for mortality risk reductions: Does latency matter? , 2004 .

[36]  Linda Chaib,et al.  Immigration and Local Urban Participatory Democracy: A Boston-Paris Comparison , 2004 .

[37]  Jean O. Lacoursière,et al.  Nutrient retention in riparian ecotones , 1994 .

[38]  Riaz Shareef,et al.  Country Risk Ratings of Small Island Tourism Economies , 2004 .

[39]  Marta Stryszowska,et al.  Late and Multiple Bidding in Competing Second Price Internet Auctions , 2004 .

[40]  Monica Eberle,et al.  Theoretical topics in ecological economics , 2003 .

[41]  R. O'Neill,et al.  The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital , 1997, Nature.

[42]  R. Brouwer,et al.  Contingent valuation of the public benefits of agricultural wildlife management: the case of Dutch peat meadow land. , 1998 .

[43]  Ing-Marie Gren,et al.  The Value of Investing in Wetlands for Nitrogen Abatement , 1995 .

[44]  Michael Finus,et al.  International Cooperation to Resolve International Pollution Problems , 2004 .

[45]  T. Söderqvist,et al.  Nutrient Reductions to the Baltic Sea: Ecology, Costs and Benefits , 1997 .

[46]  Angelo Antoci,et al.  Biodiversity and Economic Growth: Stabilization Versus Preservation of the Ecological Dynamics , 2004 .

[47]  Florian Englmaier,et al.  The Chopstick Auction: A Study of the Exposure Problem in Multi-Unit Auctions , 2004, SSRN Electronic Journal.

[48]  R. Marggraf,et al.  Ökonomische Bewertung der natürlichen Umwelt : Theorie, politische Bedeutung, ethische Diskussion , 1997 .

[49]  Kiflemariam Hamde,et al.  Mind in Africa, Body in Europe: The Struggle for Maintaining and Transforming Cultural Identity - a Note from the Experience of Eritrean Immigrants in Stockholm , 2004 .

[50]  O. Byström,et al.  The nitrogen abatement cost in wetlands , 1998 .

[51]  C. Folke.  The Societal Value of Wetland Life-Support , 1991 .

[52]  Raúl Hernández Martín.  Impact of Tourism Consumption on GDP. The Role of Imports , 2004 .

[53]  Marzio Galeotti,et al.  Weather Impacts on Natural, Social and Economic Systems (Wise) - Part I: Sectoral Analysis of Climate Impacts in Italy , 2004 .

[54]  Shlomo Weber,et al.  Languages Disenfranchisement in the European Union , 2004 .

[55]  Francesco Pigliaru,et al.  How Fast are the Tourism Countries Growing? The Cross-Country Evidence , 2003 .

[56]  F. Ricci,et al.  Channels of Transmission of Environmental Policy to Economic Growth: A Survey of the Theory , 2004 .

[57]  Natalya V. Taranova,et al.  The Role of the City in Fostering Intergroup Communication in a Multicultural Environment: Saint-Petersburg's Case , 2003 .

[58]  Henk Folmer,et al.  Profiling Tourists for Balanced Utilization of Tourism-Based Resources in Kenya , 2004 .

[59]  L. M. Svendsen,et al.  Retention of nutrients in river basins , 1999, Aquatic Ecology.

[60]  I. Gren,et al.  Economic values of Danube floodplains , 1995 .