Economic valuation of ecosystem services

The process of valuing ecosystem services – what nature does for people – is an important aspect of managing the environment as an asset with benefits for everyone.

While valuation is not just about money, there is increasing interest among many in finding ways to reflect the value of the environment in decisions that have an economic dimension. This page provides links to tools and guidelines that help those involved in the economic valuation of ecosystem services at the local and landscape scale (such as local authority regions and river catchments). Related pages on this website include Natural Capital Accounting.

General introductions to valuation

For information on economic valuation of nature more generally, the following are useful:

A 2017 paper on natural capital valuation by the Natural Capital Committee for England.
The ‘Valuing our Environment’ report from Scottish Natural Heritage.
The ‘Enabling a Natural Capital Approach’ guidance from Defra.
A ‘Demystifying Economic Valuation’ paper from Valuing Nature.

Practical resources for local projects

Environmental Value Look-up (EVL) Tool – This is a searchable database containing indicative monetary values for a range of environmental impacts. The unit values in the tool are based on a review of over 350 UK valuation studies that have been conducted since 2000. The EVL tool was developed for Defra by eftec to help analysts take better account of environmental impacts in policy and project appraisals.

Microeconomic Evidence for the Benefits of Investment in the Environment 2 – This literature review was conducted by Natural England to help its staff make the case for the natural environment to decision makers such as local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships. This review provides evidence about the economic benefits of the natural environment in an accessible format. It is an update of the original review published in 2012 and includes over 100 new pieces of evidence.

Valuing Ecosystem Services: Lowland England – In 2012, Natural England has published a report on valuing ecosystem services in lowlands. This describes six case studies throughout England, including urban fringe settings. The case studies complement an existing suite of Environment Agency case studies focused on river and coastal projects: River Tamar (Cornwall) and Alkborough Flats (Humber Estuary), the River Glaven, North Norfolk (a sea trout restoration project) and the Bristol Avon.

Valuing Ecosystem Services: Upland England – In 2009, Natural England published a report on valuing ecosystem services in upland areas. This complements the valuation work undertaken within the upland ecosystem service pilots.

Assessing socio-economic benefits of nature conservation sites – A ‘toolkit’ to assess the socio-economic benefits of Natura 2000 sites has been produced by the Institute for European Environmental Policy. While it is designed to assist managers of sites with the Natura 2000 nature conservation designation, the authors identify its potential use to those evaluating socio-economic benefits of other areas of land. The toolkit provides guidance on how to determine specific monetary values of individual benefits provided by a site. A separate project has been undertaken to investigate the economic benefits of conservation measures carried out in Natura 2000 areas.

Analytical tools – Our Tool Assessor service profiles tools that can be used to value ecosystem services.

Wicken Fen Vision project. A partnership of academic and charitable organisations have used the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment to evaluate ecosystem service benefits associated with a long-term initiative to convert drained, intensively farmed arable land to wetland. The land is owned by the National Trust. An open-access journal paper provides more information on the economic analysis, which suggested an annual net gain to society equivalent to US$199 per hectare per year following a one-off investment equivalent to US$ 2,320 per hectare.
The Keighley and Watersheddles Catchment project estimated the value for the ecosystems services provided under different land use and management scenarios for the Keighley Moor and Watersheddles catchment and compared these with the potential costs.