Trade-offs across value-domains in ecosystem services assessment

One of the key challenges for ecosystem services research is to develop a comprehensive methodological approach in which biophysical, socio-cultural and monetary value-domains can be explicitly consideredand integrated into decision making processes. This paper operationalizes a methodological approach for ecosystem service assessment on the basis of value pluralism. We assessed eleven ecosystem servicesdelivered in the Doñana social&-ecological system (SW Spain). We found that different ecosystem service trade-offs came into view depending the value-domain in which services were assessed. The use of differ-ent valuation methods uncovers the fact that methods to elicit value actually shape and define the valuesbeing elicited. In this context, the prevalence of biophysical and monetary value-domains in scientificliterature entails two main concerns: (1) the ecosystem service concept reflect in a limited extent theconcerns of their beneficiaries, and (2) ecosystem service assessment results are based towards the infor-mation provided by markets at the expense of other value-articulating institutions. Recognizing the roleof ecosystem service assessment methods as value-articulating institutions, we call for a methodologicalframework able to contemplate the multidimensional nature of ecosystem services.

Trade-offs across value-domains in ecosystem services assessment Articles