Ecological and economic assessment of forest ecosystem services on the example of SE "Vovchanske forestry"

Abstract

Problem. Forests are the most important natural resource that has shaped the history and culture of each region. The economic assessment of forest ecosystem services is essential for improving the environmental situation, and acts as the basis for making informed management decisions. The economic assessment of ecosystem services is a complex scientific and methodological problem and is characterized by certain contradictions. One of these problems is the diversity and specificity of individual ecosystem services, in connection with which it greatly complicates the process of formation of standardized scientific and methodological approaches to the assessment of ecosystem services. Goal. The aim is to analyze methodological approaches to the cost assessment of forest ecosystem services and give an economic assessment of forest ecosystem services on the example of SE "Vovchanske forestry" of Kharkiv region. Methodology. Analytical research methods were used to determine standardized scientific and methodological approaches to the economic evaluation of ecosystem services and to identify forest ecosystem services for which there is sufficient source information for calculating the cost. The calculation method was used for the economic assessment of certain categories of forest ecosystem services and for the consolidated assessment of the cost of providing and regulating forest services of SE "Vovchanske forestry". Results. The result is a number of key principles of best practice for the cost assessment of ecosystem services “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” (ТЕЕВ). Analysis of the main approaches to the commodification of ecosystem services made it possible to determine the established practice of their cost assessment on the basis of the Belarusian methodology "The procedure for carrying out a cost assessment of ecosystem services". The paper considers the main ecosystem services of the forest, identifies services for which there is enough initial information to calculate the cost. This is the characteristic of forestry SE "Vovchansky forestry". Of all the ecosystem services, forests are currently involved in market turnover and have an established cost of direct actual use services – providing services, and of the latter – the provision of wood. To calculate the cost of harvested wood, the average price was taken (taking into account the price of wood – firewood) per 1 m3 – 857 UAH/m3. The calculated cost of wood resources with a specific volume of felling 28.9 m3/ha is 24767 UAH/ha. In addition to wood, the forest also supplies the so-called non-wood resources, food resources and medicinal plants. The cost of wood and non-wood-providing forest services is 55297 UAH/ha. At the same time, the cost of non-wood resources exceeds the cost of harvested wood. Among the regulating ecosystem services of the forest, carbon dioxide assimilation is most often considered, which is an economically important factor in light of the problem of climate change and the Paris Agreement. In this paper, the estimate of the average annual absorption of carbon dioxide is carried out for the generalized age of plantings due to the inability to obtain data on the age indicators of certain areas of forestry and their growth areas. The calculation of the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed determines the assimilation capacity of the forest at 13.48 t/ha. At the existing rate per ton of $ 15 US (~ 420 UAH), the price of assimilation service is 5660 UAH/ha. Directly related to the assimilation of carbon dioxide, another regulatory service is the production of oxygen. At the cost of industrial oxygen production of 110.00 UAH/m3, the cost of the service is 55000 UAH/ha. Forests act as a filter, purify atmospheric air from various kinds of harmful impurities. The object of economic assessment of the assimilation potential of forest vegetation is the limiting content of pollutants in the phyto mass of the main forest-forming rocks. At the rates of environmental tax on substances emitted into the air, the cost of assimilation of pollutants is calculated, which is 17412 UAH/ha. The total cost of regulating ecosystem services of the forest is 81767,00 UAH/ha. Thus, the consolidated assessment of the cost of providing and regulating services of the forest SE "Vovchanske forestry" is 137054 UAH/ha. Originality. An economic assessment of the ecosystem services of the Volchanske forestry was carried out, the excess of the cost of regulatory services over services for the harvesting and delivery of timber and other “gifts” of the forest was determined. Practical value.  The assessment of forest ecosystem services shows that the main value of the forest is not the provision of wood, but in the assimilation potential of the forest, its ability to maintain the cycle of substances and biodiversity. This must be taken into account when making environmental decisions and in order to develop paid nature management.