Cost-benefit analysis in the context of ecosystem services for human well-being: A multidisciplinary critique
01 May 2011-Global Environmental Change-human and Policy Dimensions (Pergamon)-Vol. 21, Iss: 2, pp 492-504
TL;DR: In this paper, a critique of the cost-benefit analysis tool for ecosystem services policy evaluation is presented, arguing that when applied to public ecosystem services, the theoretical assumptions that underlie economic valuation and costbenefit analysis fail to fully acknowledge the multiple dimensions of human well-being, the plural forms of value articulation, the complex nature of ecosystems, the distributional biases of markets and the fairness implications of spatio-temporal framing.
Abstract: This paper provides a critique of the cost-benefit analysis tool for ecosystem services policy evaluation. We argue that when applied to public ecosystem services, the theoretical assumptions that underlie economic valuation and cost-benefit analysis fail to fully acknowledge the multiple dimensions of human well-being, the plural forms of value articulation, the complex nature of ecosystems, the distributional biases of markets and the fairness implications of spatio-temporal framing. The current monistic utilitarian approach to ecosystem services policy evaluation should therefore be replaced by a pluralist framework composed of a heterogeneous set of value-articulating instruments that are appropriate to the specific context within which decision-making takes place. It is argued that within this pluralist framework cost-benefit analysis may remain an appropriate tool to examine the contingent trade-offs of local policies that have limited impacts on ecosystems and their services.
Citations
More filters
National University of Cordoba1, Addis Ababa University2, National Autonomous University of Mexico3, State University of Campinas4, United Nations Environment Programme5, UNESCO6, United States Department of Agriculture7, Indiana University8, University of British Columbia9, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation10, University of Paris-Sud11, Landcare Research12, University College London13, Autonomous University of Madrid14, University of Cambridge15, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research16, University of Southern Denmark17, United Nations University18, Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and Environment19, The Nature Conservancy20, University of the South Pacific21, University of East Anglia22, Kyushu University23, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology24, University of Washington25, Budapest University of Technology and Economics26, Environmental Law Institute27, Ankara University28, University of Portsmouth29, Chinese Academy of Sciences30, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay31, Kyoto University32, Joseph Fourier University33, National Scientific and Technical Research Council34, University of Yaoundé35, Polish Academy of Sciences36, University of São Paulo37, École Normale Supérieure38, University of Otago39, Stanford University40, University of Queensland41, Azim Premji University42, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ43, University of Ghana44, Corvinus University of Budapest45, Stockholm University46, Lakehead University47, Indian Institute of Forest Management48, Seoul National University49, Sofia University50
TL;DR: The first public product of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is its Conceptual Framework as discussed by the authors, which will underpin all IPBES functions and provide structure and comparability to the syntheses that will produce at different spatial scales, on different themes, and in different regions.
1,585 citations
Cites background from "Cost-benefit analysis in the contex..."
...provision of clean drinking water by vegetated watersheds is seen by some cultures as an entitlement and not a commodity, thus being beyond the market logic [60]....
[...]
...the monetary one [70,71], whether nature per se can or should be valued with such techniques; and how to value the role of biological diversity itself as this is multi-layered and therefore hard to evaluate [60,61,64,72 ,73]....
[...]
...But in many situations, when dealing with more complex services such as regulating or cultural services, such valuation may neither be appropriate nor necessary nor sufficient nor practical [60,62,74]....
[...]
...some nations tend to be more dominated by value systems that prioritize individual rights and others by value systems that prioritize collective and community-level values) [60]....
[...]
University of the Basque Country1, University of Cambridge2, National Autonomous University of Mexico3, University of Córdoba (Spain)4, Corvinus University of Budapest5, University of Southern Denmark6, University of Gothenburg7, University of East Anglia8, Lund University9, University of Kiel10, United Nations11, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ12, University of Khartoum13, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology14, University of Washington15, University of Oxford16, Ministry of Forestry17, University College Dublin18, National University of Cordoba19, Carthage University20, University of Chile21, Harvard University22, Norwegian University of Life Sciences23, University of Pretoria24, University of Antwerp25, Wetlands International26, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro27, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources28, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research29, University of Western Australia30, National University of General Sarmiento31, Calcutta Institute of Engineering and Management32, European Commission33, Government of Canada34, Finnish Environment Institute35, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro36, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro37, International Institute of Minnesota38, Victoria University of Wellington39, Indian Institute of Forest Management40, University of Tokyo41
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the rationale for the inclusive valuation of nature's contributions to people (NCP) in decision making, as well as broad methodological steps for doing so, and argue that transformative practices aiming at sustainable futures would benefit from embracing such diversity, which require recognizing and addressing power relationships across stakeholder groups that hold different values on human nature-relations and NCP.
985 citations
Cites background from "Cost-benefit analysis in the contex..."
...It is useful to bridge values which are expressions of personal utility or motivated by other factors, such as moral or ethical considerations and thus different to be integrated through modelling [40]....
[...]
University of British Columbia1, National Autonomous University of Mexico2, Arizona State University3, National University of Cordoba4, University of Oxford5, University of Vermont6, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ7, Charles Sturt University8, Lüneburg University9, Oregon State University10, Georgia Institute of Technology11, University of Kiel12, Ikerbasque13, University of Victoria14
TL;DR: It is proposed that focusing only on instrumental or intrinsic values may fail to resonate with views on personal and collective well-being, or “what is right,” with regard to nature and the environment, and it is time to engage seriously with a third class of values, one with diverse roots and current expressions: relational values.
Abstract: A cornerstone of environmental policy is the debate over protecting nature for humans’ sake (instrumental values) or for nature’s (intrinsic values) (1). We propose that focusing only on instrumental or intrinsic values may fail to resonate with views on personal and collective well-being, or “what is right,” with regard to nature and the environment. Without complementary attention to other ways that value is expressed and realized by people, such a focus may inadvertently promote worldviews at odds with fair and desirable futures. It is time to engage seriously with a third class of values, one with diverse roots and current expressions: relational values. By doing so, we reframe the discussion about environmental protection, and open the door to new, potentially more productive policy approaches.
977 citations
TL;DR: Nussbaum and Nussbaum as mentioned in this paper discuss women and human development in the context of women's empowerment and women's reproductive health. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000, 303 pp.
Abstract: Women and Human Development. Martha C. Nussbaum. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000, 303 pp.
752 citations
References
More filters
Book•
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: In this paper, Amartya Sen quotes the eighteenth century poet William Cowper on freedom: Freedom has a thousand charms to show, That slaves howe'er contented, never know.
Abstract: In Development as Freedom Amartya Sen quotes the eighteenth century poet William Cowper on freedom: Freedom has a thousand charms to show, That slaves howe'er contented, never know. Sen explains how in a world of unprecedented increase in overall opulence, millions of people living in rich and poor countries are still unfree. Even if they are not technically slaves, they are denied elementary freedom and remain imprisoned in one way or another by economic poverty, social deprivation, political tyranny or cultural authoritarianism. The main purpose of development is to spread freedom and its 'thousand charms' to the unfree citizens. Freedom, Sen persuasively argues, is at once the ultimate goal of social and economic arrangements and the most efficient means of realizing general welfare. Social institutions like markets, political parties, legislatures, the judiciary, and the media contribute to development by enhancing individual freedom and are in turn sustained by social values. Values, institutions, development, and freedom are all closely interrelated, and Sen links them together in an elegant analytical framework. By asking "What is the relation between our collective economic wealth and our individual ability to live as we would like?" and by incorporating individual freedom as a social commitment into his analysis, Sen allows economics once again, as it did in the time of Adam Smith, to address the social basis of individual well-being and freedom.
19,080 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors have estimated the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes, based on published studies and a few original calculations, for the entire biosphere, the value (most of which is outside the market) is estimated to be in the range of US$16-54 trillion (10^(12)) per year, with an average of US $33 trillion per year.
Abstract: The services of ecological systems and the natural capital stocks that produce them are critical to the functioning of the Earth's life-support system. They contribute to human welfare, both directly and indirectly, and therefore represent part of the total economic value of the planet. We have estimated the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes, based on published studies and a few original calculations. For the entire biosphere, the value (most of which is outside the market) is estimated to be in the range of US$16-54 trillion (10^(12)) per year, with an average of US$33 trillion per year. Because of the nature of the uncertainties, this must be considered a minimum estimate. Global gross national product total is around US$18 trillion per year.
18,139 citations
"Cost-benefit analysis in the contex..." refers background or methods in this paper
...…ecosystem services framework, a metaphor of nature that conceives of the environment as natural capital, and of natural processes as leading to a stream of ecosystem services that flow like ‘interest’ from the natural capital to society (Costanza et al., 1997; Turner et al., 2003; Norgaard, 2010)....
[...]
...In its application to ecosystem services, cost-benefit analysis is informed by the ecosystem services framework, a metaphor of nature that conceives of the environment as natural capital, and of natural processes as leading to a stream of ecosystem services that flow like ‘interest’ from the natural capital to society (Costanza et al., 1997; Turner et al., 2003; Norgaard, 2010)....
[...]
...…the inapplicability of economic valuation also explains why attempts to determine the total economic value of the world’s ecosystem services (e.g. Costanza et al., 1997; Balmford et al., 2002) are meaningless – the absolute economic value of ecosystem services would simply be infinite, and this…...
[...]
...These methods have been extensively used in well-known attempts to estimate the total economic value of the world’s ecosystem services (e.g. Costanza et al., 1997; Balmford et al., 2002)....
[...]
Book•
15 Jan 2007TL;DR: The Stern Review as discussed by the authors is an independent, rigourous and comprehensive analysis of the economic aspects of this crucial issue, conducted by Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the UK Government Economic Service, and a former Chief Economist of the World Bank.
Abstract: There is now clear scientific evidence that emissions from economic activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels for energy, are causing changes to the Earth´s climate. A sound understanding of the economics of climate change is needed in order to underpin an effective global response to this challenge. The Stern Review is an independent, rigourous and comprehensive analysis of the economic aspects of this crucial issue. It has been conducted by Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the UK Government Economic Service, and a former Chief Economist of the World Bank. The Economics of Climate Change will be invaluable for all students of the economics and policy implications of climate change, and economists, scientists and policy makers involved in all aspects of climate change.
10,097 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1981
TL;DR: In this article, an apex seal for a rotary combustion engine is disclosed having a hollow, thin wall, tubular, metal core member embedded in an extruded composite metal-carbon matrix, adapted to slideably engage the slot of the rotor in which it rides and sealingly engage the rotor housing against which it is spring and gas pressure biased.
Abstract: In a preferred embodiment an apex seal for a rotary combustion engine is disclosed having a hollow, thin wall, tubular, metal core member embedded in an extruded composite metal-carbon matrix. The seal is adapted to slidably engage the slot of the rotor in which it rides, and to sealingly engage the rotor housing against which it is spring and gas pressure biased. The incorporation of the hollow tubular core in the extruded seal permits a reduction in weight with no significant loss in flexural strength or wear resistance. It also provides gas pressure balance, end to end.
8,684 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1999
5,306 citations
"Cost-benefit analysis in the contex..." refers background in this paper
...…reduction in utility of the poor may actually 8 In the field of hedonic psychology, adaptation is defined as ‘‘any psychological mechanism that reduces the effects (perceptual, physiological, motivational, hedonic, etc.) of a constant and repeated stimulus’’ (Frederick and Loewenstein, 1999: 302)....
[...]