Valuing Ecosystem Services at the Urban Level: A Critical Review

Edoardo Croci,Benedetta Lucchitta,Tommaso Penati

doi:10.3390/su13031129

Abstract

This paper critically analyses the methodologies that can be adopted to value ecosystem services (ESs) at the urban level through a literature review. While literature on ES valuation has grown in recent years, its application to urban contexts is still limited. Twenty-five papers, which include 29 different case studies, carry out an economic valuation and have undergone an in-depth analysis. The papers have been selected out of 80 papers detected through keywords. Six different valuation methodologies have been employed in the case studies. The most common ESs valued at the urban level are air quality regulation, local climate regulation, carbon sequestration and storage, and aesthetic appreciation and inspiration for culture, art, and design. The methodologies recur with different frequencies in the valuation of ESs at the urban level. Choice modeling and contingent valuation methodologies are used to value a variety of ESs, including regulating, cultural, and supporting services. Other methodologies are used to value only specific ESs. The replacement cost and damage cost avoided methodologies are used for the assessment of regulation services only; the travel cost method and contingent valuation are used for cultural services only. The results indicate that the considered valuation methodologies show different levels of appropriateness with respect to specific ES categories. Therefore, there is a need to expand the application of valuation methodologies to capture the value of all ESs provided by natural resources, in order to protect and enhance them.

Highlights

The protection and enhancement of natural resources and nature-based solutions (NBSs) [1] are fundamental to ensure the correct functioning of ecosystems at different scales, from global to local, as ecosystem services (ESs) are the “direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human wellbeing” [2]
The paper assesses the economic valuation methodologies adopted to measure the monetary value of ESs generated by NBSs at the urban level, through an analysis based on a literature review
It finds that six different valuation methodologies have been employed in the 29 case studies found within 25 papers

Summary

Introduction

The protection and enhancement of natural resources and nature-based solutions (NBSs) [1] are fundamental to ensure the correct functioning of ecosystems at different scales, from global to local, as ecosystem services (ESs) are the “direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human wellbeing” [2]. The monetary valuation of an ES is traditionally absent from economic accounting and so their production ordinarily fails to reach optimum social conditions As a result, their critical contributions are not considered in public, corporate, and individual decision-making [5]. Their critical contributions are not considered in public, corporate, and individual decision-making [5] Public goods, such as water and air, are characterized by non-excludability and nonrivalry. The former signifies that it is not possible to selectively exclude some individuals from their use, while the latter signifies that consumption by one individual does not reduce its availability to others. Individuals cannot be excluded from their use, but consumption by one individual does reduce its availability to others

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion