ORVal (Outdoor recreation valuation tool) | Ecosystems Knowledge Network

Overview

Description:

ORVal is a freely accessible web-based tool that predicts the number of visits to existing and new greenspaces in England, and estimates the welfare value of those visits in monetary terms. It is based on an econometric model of recreational demand derived from MENE data. Users can examine the recreational value of existing green space and test how the number of visits and the value of these visits might change if the land cover was changed, or if new green spaces were created. Results can be grouped by local authority area or catchment, and can be split by socio-economic group.

Input:

All input data is provided internally by the tool – the user just has to choose an existing green space by clicking on the map, or specify the land cover of altered or newly created green space.

Output:

Maps

Quantitative data on ecosystem services

Tables / statistics / reports

Economic assessment

Cost-benefit assessment

Scale:

Site scale

Local scale

Landscape scale

Regional scale

National scale

Cost of the tool (and guidance):

Open access (free)

Context:

Green space for public access / recreation.

Resource requirement (software):

Access to internet.

Level of technical expertise required:

Internet use skills

Types of ecosystem service included:

Cultural

Habitat type (UK NEA habitats):

Mountains, moors and heaths

Semi-natural grasslands

Enclosed farmland

Woodland

Freshwater, wetlands and floodplains

Urban

Coastal margins

How does it work?:

The user can zoom into a map of England and Wales showing existing publicly-accessible green spaces (parks, countryside paths, woods, beaches, allotments, cemeteries, nature areas etc.). The maps also show information on the habitat types (woodland, agriculture, natural grass, managed grass etc.), designations (SSSI, nature reserve, etc.) and points of interest (historic site, archaeology, scenic feature, viewpoint, playground) at those sites. Estimates of visits to each site and the value generated from those visits is estimated via an econometric model of recreation trip choice (specifically a random utility travel cost model) based on seven years of data from the weekly MENE (monitor of engagement with the natural environment) survey (2009 to 2016). Trip and value estimates control for the socio-economic characteristics of local populations as well as the location, size, land covers and features of a site and, importantly, of substitute sites.

Where can I get it?:

http://leep.exeter.ac.uk/orval/

Case Studies

Number of case studies in the uk:

Three.

Examples of case studies in the uk :

Three case studies are provided by the tool developers to illustrate how the tool works.

Valuing recreational sites in West Norwich – a simple demonstration of how to display values for individual sites
Millennium and Doorstep Greens – a demonstration of how to extract total value for all green spaces matching certain ‘filter’ characteristics. In this case, the value for all Millennium and Doorstep Greens in the Liverpool local authority area is estimated as around £750,000 per year, of which around a third accrues to the C1 socio-economic group. The calculation can be repeated for a much broader region by selecting multiple catchments. In the whole of the north-west region the benefits are almost £10M per year, and in the whole of England the benefits are around £50 million per year, compared to an initial one-off investment of £55 million. If an estimate of £25,000 per year maintenance costs is included at a 5% discount rate, the cost-benefit ratio is 1:3.5. However, 61% of this benefit accrues to socio-economic groups A, B and C1, compared to 39% for C1, D and E.
National Trails: This shows how to select the South West Coast Path by selecting all the catchments in the South West region and then filtering by green space type = “path” and “designation=’National Trail’”. The value of the South West Coast Path is estimated to be around £80 million per year, more than 100 times the annual maintenance costs of £725,000. The annual value of all 13 national trails in England is estimated to be £348 million per year.

Detailed information

Key data sources:

The following can be downloaded from the website http://leep.exeter.ac.uk/orval/documents:

User guide
Data report
Technical report
Three short case studies
Spatial datasets for beaches, parks, paths and access points (DWG files)

Original purpose:

ORVal aims to quantify the recreational value of green space in England and Wales, allowing users to test the impact of changes to existing sites or the introduction of new sites on this value.

User groups:

Local authorities
Land managers
Local communities

Original geographic scope:

England

Wales

Terrestrial, freshwater or marine focus?:

Terrestrial

Specific ecosystem services modelled:

Recreation

Datasets (required):

None – all provided by the tool

Datasets (optional):

N/A

Time requirements:

Low

Estimated working days to complete a project:

After defining the area to be assessed by clicking on the map or drawing a polygon, web reports are generated in just a few seconds.

Tool accessibility:

Free webtool

License information:

No requirement

Current version:

Version 2.0.

Updates:

The tool has been updated once since its launch.

Technical support provided?:

Email addresses are provided for the tool developers

Developer (organisation):

University of Exeter, with funding from Defra.

Developer (organisation type):

Academic.

Developer (individuals):

Brett Day and Greg Smith, University of Exeter.

Primary contact:

Brett Day brett.day@exeter.ac.uk

Publications:

Finch, T., Day, B., Massimino, D., Redhead, J.W., Field, R.H., Balmford, A., Green, R.E. and Peach, W.J., (2020). Evaluating spatially explicit sharing‐sparing scenarios for multiple environmental outcomes. Journal of Applied Ecology.

Day, B., (2020). The economic value of the outdoors under pandemic lockdown, Environmental and Resource Economics, 76(4), pp.1161-1185.

Number of case studies outside the uk:

None

Tool limitations:

ORVal’s predictions of visits and welfare are derived from a sophisticated model or recreation choice but those are predictions and not actual counts of visits to a particular greenspace or actual measures of the welfare which that greenspace provides.
The model indicates the expected values for a typical greenspace in each location, accounting for the type of greenspace, the availability of other greenspace nearby and the characteristics of local population. It does not account for the unique characteristics of each park, which will also influence the visit rate and values.
ORVal only accounts for recreational value. If taken in isolation there is a risk that this could lead to one-sided decisions, e.g. creation of high-recreational value spaces such as playing fields could be prioritised over conserving nature and providing other ecosystem services such as flood protection, carbon storage and aesthetic value. It is vitally important that other tools are used to assess these other services.
The mapping of existing green spaces (based on OpenStreetMap, CEH LCM2007 and other sources) can be inaccurate especially for small urban spaces, e.g. grassland, sports pitches or woodland can be incorrectly classified as ‘agriculture’ or ‘built-up’; some public green spaces are omitted from the map; and some areas without full public access (e.g. school playing fields) are included.
The MENE data on which the model is based covers only adults aged over 16 and day trips, so more remote areas such as the Lake District which are very popular for longer trips could be undervalued.
The tool estimates the marginal value of each green space, i.e. the loss in value if that space was removed. When considering more than one green space, the actual aggregate value would be higher than the sum of these individual marginal values, because people would experience a larger loss if a number of local spaces were removed simultaneously leaving them with no alternatives nearby.