Abstract
This study aims to apply approaches, methods, and indicators from the conceptual framework of ecosystem services valuation to a real world, local level case study. It tests a GIS-based mapping and valuation of ecosystem services model in a typical mountain municipality in Bulgaria. Investigation results address opportunities, challenges and limitations in the practical application of the ecosystem services concept. They include an integrated assessment of the ecosystem services in a specific administrative territorial unit and suggest its Total Economic Value. The introduction of the term “ecosystem services dysergy” should contribute to valuation theory and practice. The study upgrades the currently available knowledge base that supports geospatial planning and sustainable development of the Karlovo Municipality and offers recommendations for improvement of the municipal ecosystem services utilization, which include identification, analysis, and visualization of hotspots and dysergy areas.
Highlights
The ecosystem services (ES) concept gradually deepens its influence on development of economic theory and practice (Gómez-Baggethun et al 2010)
The financial implications of inventories and ES flows are highly informative and help tracking the effects that changes in the quantity and quality of different types of natural capital and ecosystem services have on the economy and human well-being (Costanza et al 1997)
The process cannot be limited by administrative or political boundaries. This is clearly visible in the vulnerability of the regulating functions, as well as in some material services, such as Surface Water for Drinking or in forest ecosystems in conditions of inappropriate use of the Fibers and other Materials from Plants, Algae and Animals for Direct Use or Processing. This investigation succeeded to: a/ Update the basic terminology supporting ES classification and evaluation; b/ Overcome some of the challenges of the application of ES valuation methods at the municipal level and the geospatial analysis of their results; c/ Enlarge the currently available information and knowledge basis that support geospatial planning & sustainable development of the Karlovo Municipality
Summary
The ecosystem services (ES) concept gradually deepens its influence on development of economic theory and practice (Gómez-Baggethun et al 2010). Brouwer et al (2013) have synthesized the results of national experimental research and other research initiatives across Europe and offered a unified conceptual framework for choosing of appropriate approaches, methods and scales for assessing and evaluating ES in the context of "The Economics of Ecosystems And Biodiversity "(TEEB). They pay special attention to key issues, such as the financial implications of the ES without available market value, the spatial variability in ES values and the indicators for forming the total economic value (TEV) of ES. Qiu and Turner 2013place emphasis on the role of spatial analyses for the understanding of interactions among “multiple ES across heterogeneous landscapes and their spatial concordance”
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