scholarly journals The mismeasure of nature: the political ecology of economic valuation of Tiger Reserves in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Menon ◽  
Nitin D Rai
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Political ◽  
Indian State ◽  
Institutional Contexts

<p>The Indian state has conserved tigers by establishing reserves that are governed as a form of fortress conservation. Residence and local uses in these tiger reserves are often criminalized. It is in this context that we critique recent neoliberal attempts to estimate the economic value of ecosystem services from tiger reserves. Proponents of valuation argue that it will not only provide a justification for the reserves, but also recognize the importance of ecosystem services for human well-being. We use a political ecology approach to argue that economic valuation is never a benign tool, but is situated in wider institutional contexts that favor certain actors over others. In India, protected areas are being valued even as people living within them are being evicted and their use of the forest restricted. We draw from fieldwork in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Hills of Karnataka and conversations with Soligas. We ask how nature is made legible and who benefits from such legibility? We suggest that economic valuation can hide complex human-nature relationships and undermine different ways of knowing and 'valuing' landscapes.</p><p><strong>Key Words</strong>: tiger reserves, Karnataka, economic valuation</p>

Monetäre Bewertung von Ökosystemleistungen: eine kritische Sicht auf einige Kritiken (Essay)

2017 ◽  
Vol 168 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Elsasser
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Monetary Valuation ◽  
Intrinsic Values ◽  
Ethical Norms ◽  
Valuation Of Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Valuations

Monetary valuation of ecosystem services: a critical view of some critiques (essay) Diverse objections against the monetary valuation of ecosystem services are being raised in transdisciplinary discussions as well as in the scientific literature. The monetary valuation is said to overlook nature's intrinsic values, to infringe ethical norms, to narrow down perspectives to economic welfare alone, or even to nothing but material well-being, to stimulate the commercialisation of nature – conversely, others criticize that it fails exactly in this respect –, to favour social inequality, and to rely upon undependable methods. This essay questions the cogency of these criticisms and highlights some prejudices and misconceptions, often rooted in an erroneous understanding of the function of environmental valuations in the political decision process.

scholarly journals The Value of Recreational Ecosystem Services in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Muniyandi Balasubramanian
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
National Park ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Consumer Surplus ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Mental Well Being

Forest ecosystem services have played a vital role in human well-being. Particularly, recreational ecosystem services are creating physical and mental well-being for human beings. Therefore, the main objective of the paper is to estimate the economic value of recreational ecosystem services provides by recreational sites such as Nandi Hills and Nagarhole National Park based on the individual travel cost method in Karnataka, India. This study has used a random sampling method for 300 tourist visitors to recreational sites. The present study has also estimated the consumer surplus of the visitors. The results of the study have found that (i) economic value of two creational sites has been estimated at US $323.05 million, (ii) the consumer surplus has been estimated for Nandi Hills at US $7.45 and Nagarhole National Park at US $3.16. The main implication of the study is to design the entry fees for the recreational site and sustainable utilization of recreational ecosystem services for the present and future generations.

scholarly journals Water Matters: thinking with water Class Experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denisse Roca-Servat ◽  
Polina Golovátina-Mora
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Private University ◽  
The Political ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Master's Program ◽  
Graduate Course ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Environmental Relations

This article revisits a co-learning experience of a graduate course on the political ecology of water at the Master’s program in Development Studies in a Colombian private university which employed a thinking with water teaching methodology based on the ontological-epistemological-methodological unity. Water as a nearly universal solvent not only conditions life on the planet but also defines human imaginary. The physical characteristics of water such as its fluidity, plasticity, and conductivity enable a multidimensional, nonlineal, and relational thought. Because of its universal familiarity and its indispensability for life, water offers intuitive ways of knowing. The revision of the class experience showed that the materiality of water affects the dynamic of the course. It supports the idea of the performativity (Barad) of our knowledge about Self and the world. Spontaneous and resistant, water clears hidden, silenced, or ignored meanings of both social and environmental relations and, so, stimulates critical self-reflection, catalyzes social change, and promotes social justice.

scholarly journals The Elusive Quest for Valuation of Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Services

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1518 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Walter Milon ◽  
Sergio Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Services Research ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Geophysical Processes ◽  
Marine Ecosystem Services ◽  
Policy And Planning

Coastal and marine ecosystem (CME) services provide benefits to people through direct goods and services that may be harvested or enjoyed in situ and indirect services that regulate and support biological and geophysical processes now and in the future. In the past two decades, there has been an increase in the number of studies and journal articles designed to measure the economic value of the world’s CME services, although there is significantly less published research than for terrestrial ecosystems. This article provides a review of the literature on valuation of CME services along with a discussion of the theoretical and practical challenges that must be overcome to utilize valuation results in CME policy and planning at local, regional, and global scales. The review reveals that significant gaps exist in research and understanding of the broad range of CME services and their economic values. It also raises questions about the validity of aggregating ecosystem services as independent components to determine the value of a biome when there is little understanding of the relationships and feedbacks between ecosystems and the services they produce. Finally, the review indicates that economic valuation of CME services has had a negligible impact on the policy process in four main regions around the world. An alternative direction for CME services research would focus on valuing the world’s CME services in a wealth accounting framework.

scholarly journals The political ecology of ecosystem services

Geoforum ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 122-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian A. Kull ◽  
Xavier Arnauld de Sartre ◽  
Monica Castro-Larrañaga
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
The Political

An economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by the River Turia Natural Park (Valencia)

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
V. Estruch-Guitart ◽  
A. Valls-Civera
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Analytical Hierarchy Process ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Analytic Network Process ◽  
Valuation Method ◽  
Natural Park ◽  
Network Process ◽  
Hierarchy Process

<p>The objective of this paper is to obtain the monetary value of ecosystem services provided by the Turia Natural Park (TNP). This paper proposes the use of the Analytic Multicriteria Valuation Method (AMUVAM) by replacing the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with the Analytic Network Process (ANP), since the ANP method allows to analyze interdependence relationships between the services provided by a system. The results express that the economic value of the ecosystem services associated to the TNP ranges between 163,946,752 € and 481,549,597 €. The results reveal distinct patterns in the valuation of the existing services due to ethical issues.</p>

scholarly journals The Framework of Ecosystem Services for Economic Valuation Purposes: A Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-449
Author(s):  
Nguyen Minh Duc
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Natural Resource Management ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Past

Although humans need ecosystems and ecosystem services for their survival and well-being, most of the global ecosystems and the services that they provide have declined and/or degraded rapidly over the past few decades. In order to find the ways to sustainably use natural resources, substantial efforts have been made to measure and value the ecosystem services. The term ‘ecosystem service’ was interpreted in different ways in the literature. For making correct decisions in natural resource management, a consistent way of defining and classifying ecosystem services is needed for valuation purposes. This paper argued for the need to divide ecosystem services into intermediate and final services.

scholarly journals The development of the concept of ecosystem services: A review of foreign Publications

2015 ◽  
pp. 26-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Konyushkov
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Recent Decade ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Market Values ◽  
Valuation Of Ecosystem Services ◽  
Number Of Publications

Foreign publications devoted to the problems of determination and valuation of ecosystem services and their practical application in planning economic activities are under review. This direction of studies is being rapidly developed. It was clearly shaped after the global Millennium Ecosystem Assessment performed in 2005 on the initiative of the United Nations. In the recent decade, this direction has got an official status; specialized journals have been founded; regular conferences and workshops have been conducted. The number of publications in this field has increased considerably. The contribution of soil scientists to the valuation of ecosystem services remains modest. It is argued that the assessment and valuation of the ecosystem services of soils is a promising direction for soil science. Ecosystem services are subdivided into the groups of provisional, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. The latter group is considered the natural basis ensuring the efficient performance of other ecosystem services with their direct or indirect impact on human well-being. The assessment of ecosystem services implies three major directions: ecological, economic (monetary), and social. For each of the groups of ecosystem services, specific methods of their economic valuation are applied. Thus, provisional services are mainly assessed according to their market values. The contribution of provisional services to the total value of ecosystem services is relatively small. Regulating services are often estimated by the avoided cost and replacement cost methods, and cultural services (recreation, inspiration source, aesthetic value, spiritual value) are valued by the travel cost method. The methods of nonmarketable valuation are essentially based on the willingness-to-pay approach. Upon valuation of ecosystem services at the local level, a systems approach should be applied; it is necessary to taken into account cooperation bonus obtained by the particular stakeholders. It should also be noted that the removal of additional pressures from ecosystems in a given place might result in the increase of the anthropogenic loads on ecosystems in other places. The separation, mapping, and valuation of ecosystem services are performed with an ultimate goal to ensure sustainable development of the society and human well-being. The ecological and economic approaches in this field are actually aimed at strengthening of the role of market mechanisms in the environmental protection policy.

scholarly journals An economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by the River Turia Natural Park (Valencia)

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
V. Estruch-Guitart ◽  
A. Valls-Civera
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Analytical Hierarchy Process ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Analytic Network Process ◽  
Valuation Method ◽  
Natural Park ◽  
Network Process ◽  
Hierarchy Process

<p>The objective of this paper is to obtain the monetary value of ecosystem services provided by the Turia Natural Park (TNP). This paper proposes the use of the Analytic Multicriteria Valuation Method (AMUVAM) by replacing the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with the Analytic Network Process (ANP), since the ANP method allows to analyze interdependence relationships between the services provided by a system. The results express that the economic value of the ecosystem services associated to the TNP ranges between 163,946,752 € and 481,549,597 €. The results reveal distinct patterns in the valuation of the existing services due to ethical issues.</p>

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