Potential and Pitfalls of Alternative Approaches to Ecosystem Service Valuation (ValuES)

The ValuES project analyzed the potential of alternative valuation approaches in valuing ecosystem services in different management and decision making contexts. It developed an integrated valuation framework accounting for multiple value dimensions of ecosystem services, providing a richer understanding of the ways that ecosystems and their changes matter to people. The project:

1. Evaluated the ability of economic and non-economic valuation methods to account for ecosystem services in different policy contexts and at different scales (local, regional, national)
2. Analysed the potential and problems of deliberative valuation in monetary and non-monetary valuation contexts and examine the factors that limit, or facilitate, value articulation through group deliberation
3. Analysed the institutional conditions for operational application of the different value attribution methods and the outcomes of these analyses. How is ecosystem service values considered in real-world decision-making and how can valuation methods better relate to it?

The ValuES project focused ecosystem services provided by mires and wetlands.  

The work was carried out by consortium with Finnish Environment Institute and Natural Research Institute Finland. The project was closely connected with the OpenNESS-project.

A recent publication from the ValuES project:

• Primmer, E., Saarikoski, H., Vatn, A.  2018. An empirical analysis of institutional demand for Valuation Knowledge. Ecological Economics 152, 152–160.