Download ECOSYSTEM VALUE ESTIMATOR

USAID Mekong Adaptation and
Resilience to Climate Change
IN BRIEF
ECOSYSTEM VALUE ESTIMATOR
Decision making on economic development
in the Mekong Basin has largely focused on
growth through large scale projects and
excluded considerations of environmental
value, resulting in significant environmental
degradation. In order to contribute to more
informed
decisions
on
sustainable
development,
environmental
valuation
methods, such as ecosystem services
valuation (ESV), have emerged to facilitate
cost-benefit
comparison
for
improved
understanding of trade-offs and provide a
fuller picture of the financial value of the
environment. While conducting a full
economic valuation of ecosystem services is
advisable prior to making development
decisions, it can require time that decisionmakers do not have.
As an initial step in the economic valuation
process, USAID Mekong Adaptation and
Resilience to Climate Change and the
Mekong Region Futures Institute developed a
free, web-based Ecosystem Value Estimator.
The development of this tool seeks to allow
users to obtain rapid ESV estimates that can
inform a broader understanding of the
potential economic costs of ecosystem-based
trade-offs.
Valuing Ecosystem Services
Ecosystems, such as wetlands, forests, and
mangroves, are recognized as providing
valuable services to agriculture, industry and
health, to name just a few of the wide ranging
sectors they support. The main types of
ecosystem services can be categorized as
below:
 Provisioning Services: Food; Fresh Water;
Fuel; Genetic Resources; Medicines
 Regulatory
Services:
Air
Quality
Maintenance; Water Regulation; Climate
Regulation;
Erosion
Control;
Waste
Treatment; Regulation of Human Diseases;
Storm Protection
“While not a full economic valuation, the
Estimator provides a starting point for
understanding economic trade-offs and enables
users to make more sustainable development
decisions.”
- Alex Smajgl, Mekong Region Futures Institute
 Cultural
Services:
Recreation
and
Ecotourism; Spiritual and Religious Values;
Educational Values; Aesthetic Values;
Cultural Diversity; Social Relations.
ESV Estimator Usage
The Ecosystem Value Estimator calculates
value ranges for ecosystems services based on
over 500 economic valuation results from the
Lower Mekong Basin.
While the Estimator does not intend to replace
more comprehensive economic valuation
assessment, it can:

Provide a first guide to understand how
ecosystem losses are likely to relate to
expected gains from development
projects; and

Give an indicator as to whether an actual
economic valuation or cost-benefit
analysis is needed.
RESOURCE LINKS
Ecosystem Value Estimator:
http://mekongarcc.net/ESV_tool/ESV.html
Reports: Valuing Ecosystem Services in the Lower Mekong
Basin:
http://mekongarcc.net/resource/reports-valuing-ecosystemservices-lower-mekong-basin
BLOG: Employing Ecosystems Service Valuation Guidelines to
Solve Metaphysical Riddles and Make a Case for
Conservation:
http://bit.ly/1fWKD86