Ecosystem Services and Their Economic and Social Value

Abstract

The concept of services valuation has become an important theoretical construct for linking ecosystem functions to human well-being, using basic principles of natural science combined with welfare economics. In order to make more rational decisions about how to use and manage resources—and attempt to maximize their social and economic value—these non-market values must be captured in new models and incorporated into all levels of decision making. The National Ocean Economics Program data has revealed that marine transportation and coastal tourism and recreation generate far more jobs and revenue for the US economy than other ocean industries such as fishing, offshore minerals, construction, and ship building. Measuring the social value of ecosystems is considerably more difficult than economic value, not only because social variables are harder to quantify, but because there is no consensus on the definition of social value.