Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Pacific Northwest CESU

archived

The funding opportunity is to conduct research on the valuation of ecosystem services and its utility for land-use management. The goal of this research is to assess and improve the usefulness of ecosystem services valuation for land use decision making. The study will consist of two main objectives: 1) Determine which, if any, methods for valuing ecosystem services are suitable for operational use by land managers; and 2) Explore the usefulness of an ecosystem services valuation framework to the land use decision-making process. This specific study will be conducted within the context of an interagency collaborative research project on the assessment and valuation of ecosystem services within the San Pedro River Basin, southeastern Arizona. To the extent feasible, economic valuation efforts will include the use and assessment of (a) valuation procedures specifically designed for this project, which may include both stated preference and revealed preference methods for nonmarket valuation; (b) existing ecosystem service valuation tools, and (c) economic benefit transfer techniques.

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