Tony Hyde’s research while affiliated with Aberystwyth University and other places

Monetary valuation of ecosystem services enables more accurate accounting of the environmental costs and benefits of policies, but this has rarely been applied in developing countries. In such contexts, there are particular methodological and epistemological challenges that require novel valuation methodologies. This paper introduces a new participatory, deliberative choice experiment approach conducted in the Solomon Islands. The research aimed to determine the value people placed on ecosystem services and whether participatory interventions to elicit deeper held values influenced the preferences expressed. Results found that the initial willingness to pay for a number of tropical forest ecosystem services amounted to 30% of household income. Following deliberative intervention exercises, key ecosystem services effectively became priceless as participants were unwilling to trade them off in the choice experiment scenarios, regardless of financial cost. The group based deliberative approach, combined with participatory interventions, also resulted in significant learning for participants. This included a more sophisticated view of ecological-cultural linkages, greater recognition of deeper held values, and greater awareness of the consequences of human actions for the environment. The use of a group-based participatory approach instead of a conventional individual survey helped to overcome many of the practical difficulties associated with valuation in developing countries. Given the impact of learning on valuation outcomes, participation and deliberation should be integrated into valuation of any complex good, both in developing and developed economies. However, such a methodology raises questions about how valuation can deal with unwillingness to trade-off key ecosystem services, which results in the breakdown of monetary valuation methods. Evaluation of the appropriateness of valuation processes and methodologies for assessing deeper held values and use of mixed-method approaches will be essential to ensure policies take into account the extent to which human life is dependent on ecosystem services.

Introduction - the challenge of valuing biodiversity Society needs to make difficult decisions regarding its use of biological resources, for example in terms of habitat conservation, or changing how we manage farmland through agri-environmental policy (Hanley and Shogren 2002). Environmental valuation techniques can provide useful evidence to support such policies by quantifying the economic value associated with the protection of biological resources. Pearce (2001, p. 29) argues that the measurement of the economic value of biodiversity is a fundamental step towards its conservation since ‘the pressures to reduce biodiversity are so large that the chances that we will introduce incentives [for the protection of biodiversity] without demonstrating the economic value of biodiversity are much less than if we do engage in valuation’. Assigning monetary values to biodiversity is thus important since it allows the benefits associated with biodiversity to be directly compared with the economic value of alternative resource use options (Nunes and van den Bergh 2001). OECD (2001) also recognises the importance of measuring the economic value of biodiversity and identifies a wide range of uses for such values, including demonstrating the value of biodiversity, in targeting biodiversity protection within scarce budgets, and in determining damages for loss of biodiversity in liability regimes. More generally, the role of environmental valuation methodologies in policy formulation is increasingly being recognised by policy-makers. © Cambridge University Press 2007 and Cambridge University Press, 2009.

No abstract available.

Biodiversity supports a range of ecosystem services that are of fundamental importance to people, for health, well-being, livelihoods, and survival (Costanza, R. et al., 1997; Daily, G. C., 1997). Often, it is the people from the poorest nations that have the greatest immediate dependency on these ecosystem services; such as direct reliance on natural resources for food, fuel, building material and natural medicines. Thus, gaining a better understanding of the role of biodiversity is fundamental for securing the livelihoods and well-being of people in developing countries. Economic valuation of biodiversity is important since it provides a useful vehicle to highlight and quantify the range of ecosystem service benefits delivered by biodiversity. This paper aims to provide an evaluation of economic and non-economic techniques for assessing the importance of biodiversity to people in developing countries. The research involved a review of over 300 scientific papers and 5 in-depth case studies to assess the methodological, practical and policy challenges specific to applying economic and non-economic techniques to value biodiversity in developing countries. Key findings from the review include: the way people in developing countries think about the natural environment is different to those in developed countries; people in developing countries tend to have much closer ties to their natural environment; much of their knowledge is implicit and / or experiential, which may be difficult to elicit; low levels of literacy and education mean that most people will have little or no scientific understanding of their natural environment; the informal or subsistence economies mean that people may have little or no experience of dealing with money. All of the above means that it may be extremely difficult for people from developing countries to express their value for natural resources. Given the above, it was concluded that standard approaches to valuation are unlikely to effectively reveal the preferences of people in developing countries. Further, it was considered that best-practise for valuation research for a developed country context might not be appropriate in a developing country context. Evidence from this reports suggest that valuation in developing countries may be more effective if (i) local researchers are used throughout the research process, and (ii) deliberative, participative and action research approaches are incorporated into the valuation methods.

Abstract Government,policy ,has ,responded ,to concerns ,over declining ,levels of biodiversity ,on UK farmland,by introducing,a range,of agri-environmental,measures.,Costs for such,measures are relatively easy to establish, but benefits are less easily estimated. Economics can also help guide the design of biodiversity policy, by eliciting information on different attributes ofbiodiversity. In this paper we report on a research ,project funded by DEFRA which applied,the contingent,valuation,and,choice,experiment,methods,to valuing biodiversity,on farmland, and its attributes. Focus groups were used to identify relevant attributes (such as rarity, endangered status, and familiarity), and to discover how best to overcome the lack ofknowledge,which ,most ,people ,have ,regarding what ,biodiversity ,is and ,why,it matters. Results from both contingent valuation and choice experiments are them presented, comparing,samples,for Cambridgeshire,and,Northumberland.,The choice,experiment,uses a fractional factorial design to combine characteristics of familiar species, endangered status, ecosystem functioning and cost. The contingent valuation study looks at habitat recreation,and ,habitat ,improvement. ,We also ,investigate ,the ,extent ,to which ,workshop approaches,to data,collection,can,overcome,some of,the,possible,information,problems,in this instance, by testing out the effects of allowing for information exchange and group discussion,on peoples' choices,over biodiversity policy options.

Existing research on the amenity benefits associated with forest recreation have largely been restricted to either the estimation of an overall recreation value of a forest or to the value associated with improvements to the recreational resource within a forest. Existing research, however, has largely failed to capture the significant variation in amenity values that exists between different types of forest users. This study aims to address this knowledge gap. In our study, we utilise a choice experiment model to examine the heterogeneity of amenity values that exist for a range of recreation activities within UK forests. In particular, we explore the variation in amenity values that different types of cyclists, horse riders, nature watchers and general forest users have for a range of improvements to forest facilities. The results not only identify large variations in the preferences between different types of forest users, but also highlight large variations in preferences amongst individual user groups. The recreational demands from forests are therefore found to be complex. The implications for forest managers is that they need to develop a much greater understanding of the needs of specific groups of forest users if they are to fully maximise the amenity benefits from their forests.