Ecosystem Services Valuation

Resource Dimensions’ principals have worked on identifying and quantifying the economic impacts and benefits generated by non-market goods and services provided by nature since the mid-1980’s. Much of our work has focused on assessing the wide-ranging benefits using economic valuation techniques to address issues as the full-cycle valuation of protected lands, trails, resource-based recreation lands, forest lands, wetlands, in-stream waters and other resource lands. Our particular are of expertise is in assessing the economic contributions such natural resources make to local and regional economies—their ecosystem services value. In 2004, Resource Dimensions contributed a primer on ecological economics and ecosystem service valuation to the annual special Environmental Outlook edition of the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, click here for a copy of the article.

Our approach relies the use of integrated valuation models which use biological/ecological systems data, social data inputs (e.g. attitudes, values and policy), and economic data inputs to assist in establishing estimates related to willingness-to-pay and valuation rankings for various ecological goods and services provided by nature to assist in developing sound government policies and long-range comprehensive plans.

A few of our recent projects…

Economic Impact Analysis of Trails and Protected Lands in Washington’s Methow Valley.
For the Methow Valley Sport Trails Association and the Methow Conservancy, Resource Dimensions conducted a multi-tiered economic impact analysis methodology to determine the breadth and extent of economic contributions relative to the 200 km MVSTA trail system in Washington’s Methow Valley and area protected lands. The project included the use of fiscal and real estate sales data from five area communities and Okanogan County, in addition to interviews and surveys of MVSTA trail users, valley residents, and local businesses. Respondents were queried with regard to trail attributes, local land conservation strategies, trip duration and expenditures, types of trail uses engaged in or desired, expectations, direct and indirect impacts and a variety of quality of life issues. The economic impact analysis employed used a series of methods including Hedonic and I/O models, contingent valuation, benefits transfer, ecosystem service valuation for select services, fiscal impact assessment and economic forecasting analysis. (2004-2005)

Preliminary Assessment of Select Ecosystem Service Values of Community Wetlands.
Related to recent Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) under review in Gig Harbor, Washington, Resource Dimensions conducted a preliminary analysis of ecosystem service values generated by the City’s approximately 530 wetland acres. A related article appeared in the 02/13/06 edition of The Gateway.
Click here to download the article.

National Farmland Conservation Prioritization Model Working Group
Recently, Dr. Gustanski was invited by researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara to serve as an advisor on the working group charged with the development of a national model to aid agencies and organizations in prioritizing farmland for preservation through conservation easements and other methods. The project is funded under a 3-year grant from the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. A unique goal of the model will be to incorporate both the value of ecosystem services and social values.

Extended Ecological Economics Valuation Model for Water Rights in the Walla Walla Basin –
Resource Dimensions’ Dr. Julie Ann Gustanski recently developed an integrated ecological economics valuation model for the Washington Water Trust in coordination with a project jointly funded by the U.S. Army corps of Engineers and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation for Washington’s Walla Walla Basin. The model facilitates an objective evaluation that incorporates the broad range of values inherently tied to water rights. The valuation process presented by the ecological economics water rights valuation (EEWRV) model, incorporates the framework required to ensure the best value for fish, stream flows and general public benefit – in short the full-cycle ecological benefits – is captured. The model extends traditional appraisal methods by incorporating various ecosystem service values derived through the use of valuation methods appropriate to derive the non-market values related to water rights acquisitions. These include contingent valuation methods (CVM), choice experiments, travel cost and hedonic methods. In addition, a researchable Microsoft Access data-base and annotated bibliography of more than 250 publications, reports and peer reviewed articles relative to ecological service valuation was developed for this project.

Sustainable Pierce County Project
In collaboration with Pierce County, Friends of Pierce County, and communities countywide, Resource Dimensions has led development and strategic planning stages, development and funding initiatives for the multi-phased project since late 2004. The SPC project is a first for Washington state in that it is firmly based on the fundamental principles of ecological economics. The project takes a comprehensive approach and actively engage all with a stake in the future of Pierce County and its diverse communities. A goal of the project is the development of an integrated decision-support system and coordinated resources to provide communities with a set of interactive tools to aid them in evaluating and making land use, social policy and economic development decisions that will help move Pierce County’s communities move together toward sustainability by encouraging the creation of equitable, environmentally and economically healthy places for people –for today and for the future. October 2004 through 2008.

Regional Sustainability: Bridging Resource Conservation and Economic Development Resource Dimensions’ Dr. Gustanski and Dr. Bergmann together with various colleagues both in the U.S. and abroad have been involved in several long-term international exchange projects through which various integrated land-base and watershed assessment models have been developed to incorporate ecosystem service valuation methods. The primary objective of these projects have been to create cooperative integrated strategies to serve both conservation of natural resources while simultaneously addressing the human/social needs for economic development.

Watershed Planning
Resource Dimensions has been engaged in developing ecological-economic assessment models to demonstrate how economic, social and ecosystem values can be delineated within a watershed and how changes in ecosystem quality can be valued. Projects are under way in Minnesota and Colorado.

Environmental and Employment impacts of Renewable Energy Projects
Resource Dimensions dr. Bergmann recently completed a countrywide study to determine values placed on environmental changes in landscape, wildlife, air pollution, quality of life and employment resulting from the construction of renewable energy projects in the United Kingdom.

Economic Consequences of Land Use Change
Several of Resource Dimensions’ partners have been involved in the development of integrated models to evaluate the near and longer-term economic consequences associated with land use conversion. These models incorporate economic information as well as biophysical and social policy data to evaluate implications for land use and biological integrity in the evaluation of proposed policy alternatives. The tools developed have been instrumental in evaluating the trade-offs between the sometimes-conflicting values of economic growth and environmental protection.