Description
Satish Serial Publishing House Forest Ecosystem Services Quantification and Valuation by Girish B Shahapurmath
Ecosystem Services (ES) depend on natural capital in interaction with human and social capitals. Natural capital, including vegetation and belowground biodiversity supporting soil formation and nutrient enrichment, is important for producing the supporting,regulatory and provisioning services used by humans for economic, social and cultural benefits. Mainstreaming economic development in most developing countries is usually accompanied by a decrease of natural capital and shifts in the social fabric, both affecting ES. Concerns triggered by this change have led to quantification and valuation of ecosystem services often applying globally standardized financial metric as that used for economic progress, so that the genuine economic growth can be monitored. As such, global and national environmental laws and policies now recognize the need for ES quantification and valuationfor very many reasons.Quantification and valuation of ES is a key step in deciding remedial actions for emerging environmental problems, such as climate change. For instance, the change of carbon dioxide and fluxes of nitrous oxide and methane expressed in carbon-equivalent units and multiplied with the market price for a unit of certified emission reduction has been used to prioritize climate change remedies and climate change investments. This way, carbon sequestration by forests, agricultural and other natural systems can be expressed in financial terms. Through quantification, it is also possible to link a particular share of greenhouse gasses to particular actors e.g. national governments, industries and localfarming communities or particular activities, such as deforestation, manufacturing industry, transport, etc. Quantification and valuation also inform the rights to use and invest in natural capital based on value to various beneficiaries including governments, multilateral markets and farmers. For instance, governments are motivated to protect biodiversity when the value of this biodiversity in terms of economic, environmental and social contribution is clearly articulated. Similarly, local communities have often been motivated to engage in sustainable forestry based on quantified economic, social and ecological value of certain tree species. However, this often requires the recognition that quantified ES and associated values have varying appeal to different people, institutions and ecologies. An ES value attached to global consumers, e.g. carbon credits (or not feeling guilty about tropical deforestation) may not appeal to a local peasant interested in firewood to cook a meal. As such, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Framework emphasized the need for ES quantification to considerthe full value of an ES to various stakeholders. This book deals with into some of the aspects of quantification and valuation of forest ecosystem services. The book has been compiled with a view to cover the various aspects on the subject in various forestry colleges,forestry training institutes and AgriculturalUniversities in India. This will serve as a valuable source ofinformation forthe academicians in forestry colleges and institutes and also forthe undergraduate and post-graduate students forthe preparation of competitive examinations in forestry discipline.