Policy-makers are increasingly trying to assign economic values to areas such as ecologies, the atmosphere, even human lives. These new values, assigned to areas previously considered outside of economic systems, often act to qualify, alter or replace former non-pecuniary values. Valuing Development, Environment and Conservation looks to explore the complex interdependencies, contradictions and trade-offs that can take place between economic values and the social, environmental, political and ethical systems that inform non-monetary valuation processes. Using rich empirical material, the book explores the processes of valuation, their components, calculative technologies, and outcomes in different social, ecological and conservation domains. The book gives reasons for why economic calculation tends to dominate in practice, but also presents new insights on how the disobedient materiality of things and the ingenuity of human and non-human agencies can combine and frustrate the dominant economic models within calculative processes. This book highlights the tension between, on the one hand, a dominant model that emphasises technical and ‘universalising’ criteria, and on the other hand, valuation practice in specific local contexts which is more likely to negotiate criteria that are plural, incommensurable and political. This book is perfect for researchers and students within development studies, environment, geography, politics, sociology and anthropology who are looking for new insights into how processes of valuation take place in the 21st century, and with what consequential outcomes.

This companion volume to Economic Instruments for Environmental Management presents essential information on the applications of economic valuation to environment and development. It draws on a three-year collaborative effort by research institutions around the world. Authoritative studies review the range of valuation methods used in developing economies, their purposes, the problems encountered and the quality of the results. Topics covered include the value of wildlife viewing, the conservation of rainforests, mangroves and coral reefs, supplying rural water, and controlling urban air pollution. The analysis reveals important methodological and contextual factors, highlighting key lessons and ways of strengthening future valuations. Written to be accessible to non-economists, the book provides source material for students and academics, and for policy-makers and professionals, using valuation methods to frame policy.

This book provides the first comprehensive economic valuation of U.S. National Parks (including monuments, seashores, lakeshores, recreation areas, and historic sites) and National Park Service (NPS) programs. The book develops a comprehensive framework to calculate the economic value of protected areas, with particular application to the U.S. National Park Service. The framework covers many benefits provided by NPS units and programs, including on-site visitation, carbon sequestration, and intellectual property such as in education curricula and filming of movies/ TV shows, with case studies of each included. Examples are drawn from studies in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Everglades National Park, and Chesapeake Bay. The editors conclude with a chapter on innovative approaches for sustainable funding of the NPS in its second century. The framework serves as a blueprint of methodologies for conservationists, government agencies, land trusts, economists, and others to value public lands, historical sites, and related programs, such as education. The methodologies are relevant to local and state parks, wildlife refuges, and protected areas in developed and developing countries as well as to national parks around the world. Containing a series of unique case studies, this book will be of great interest to professionals and students in environmental economics, land management, and nature conservation, as well as the more general reader interested in National Parks.

Economic valuation can help improve decisions about protecting the environment . By inputing values to unpriced goods, it can make public choices more cost-efficient and thus allow limited public income to be optimally spent.

The substantial and growing interest in the monetary valuation of preferences for environmental improvement, and against environmental damage, has prompted a demand for case studies illustrating methodologies and applications of valuation techniques. In this book, the first of two volumes, the authors provide detailed case studies of valuation techniques that have been used in developing countries. They demonstrate that valuation works and that it can yield significant insights into policy-relevant issues regarding conservation and economic development. The authors address a whole range of environmental issues under the broad themes of water and air quality, biological diversity and forest functions. The economic approaches covered include contingent valuation, hedonic property prices, travel cost methodologies and benefits transfer. They also go on to look at the idea of extending national accounts to reflect changes in environmental assets. Examples of the varied and interesting case studies include valuing improvements to sanitation in Malaysia, the value of visits to game parks in South Africa and tropical forest values in Mexico. They highlight how valuation techniques can be applied, often with limited resources, to critical development issues. Academics and practitioners of environmental economics will draw great value from this unique and original work, as will the many multilateral and bilateral aid agencies. The book will also prove a valuable addition to graduate and undergraduate courses in environmental economics where there is a need for case material.

Presents recent advances in the theory and practice of environmental valuation and resource management. Methodological contributions examine such themes as uncertainty, distributional conflict, positional analysis, weak comparability, and the need for collective solutions to environmental problems. Case studies are incorporated to support these theoretical reflections. Empirical studies are used to demonstrate and evaluate valuation practices in a variety of institutional and policy settings. These range from international environmental issues to more local issues. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

"The international community has committed itself to achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional, and national levels. Yet, despite growing awareness, and major efforts in all countries, the latest evidence indicates that biodiversity continues to be lost at a terrifying pace, resulting in what some call the greatest mass extinction since dinosaurs roamed the planet, 65 million years ago. A range of methods have been developed to value ecosystems, and the services they provide, as well as the costs of conservation. The methods available are increasingly sensitive, and robust, but they are often incorrectly used. One reason is poor understanding of the purposes of valuation and what questions it can, or cannot, answer. As a result, decision makers may get misleading guidance on the value of ecosystems, and their conservation. In this context, the Bank, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, and the Nature Conservancy have worked together to clarify the aims and uses of economic valuation, focusing on the types of questions that valuation can answer, and the type of valuation that is best suited to each purpose. How Much is an Ecosystem Worth? is the result of that cooperation. It aims to provide guidance on how economic valuation can be used to address specific, policy-relevant questions about nature conservation."