Valuing ecosystem services

This area of research draws on several themes pursued through the BRASS Research Centre that broadly addressed questions of accountability, regulation and governance of the environment.

There are many challenges linked to the valuation of ecosystem services, including cultural and supporting services, and the consequent governance of river catchments for multiple users. Through the BRASS Research Unit, research is investigating the many questions around ecosystem service valuation, including how multiple users of individual physical places place different and potentially conflicting values on specific ecosystem services, and how to include services that are less easily valued (such as cultural services) in national accounting.

As with the other projects within the Unit, this research is based on different spatial scales, with the specific aim of looking holistically at individual catchments in order to understand the links between valuation, ecosystem structures (including biodiversity), land management, legislation, governance, social groups and communities.