Current Projects in Economic Valuation of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services

Defenders is currently involved in the estimation of economic values associated with biodiversity and habitat conservation through many projects.

Projects

The Application of Ecosystem Service Markets to the Conservation of Red Wolf Habitat in North Carolina: A Local Effort with National Implications – Starting in October 2007, Defenders be implementing a two year research and policy project to explore and develop private market solutions to public wildlife habitat conservation goals. Key project objectives are to identify specific ecosystem services associated with the conservation of red wolves and their habitat; quantify the economic market and non-market benefits that may flow from the continued provision of these services; and identify private and/or public incentive mechanisms that would allow landowners to capture the benefits of services provided on their land. The project is partially funded by the Alex C. Walker Foundation.

Estimation of U.S. Habitat Conservation Costs – Estimates the total national cost of acquiring and managing priority habitat areas identified in the state Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies for alternative means of land acquisition. We develop a user-friendly cost-estimator tool to allow wildlife conservation authorities and policy makers at the local level to generate more refined cost estimates at a smaller scale and select the appropriate acquisition tool.

Development of an Operational Benefits Estimation Tool for the U.S. – Reviews and synthesizes the literature on the impacts of open space conservation on property values and community economic competitiveness. Generates an easy-to-use economic valuation toolkit that allows conservation planners and others to generate estimates of the economic value of habitat conservation for a given area. The toolkit will include both models and tables for estimating the value of 1) residential property value premiums; 2) direct and passive uses of wildlife; and 3) selected ecosystem services generated by particular habitat types. It also includes a wildlife activity-days value model that allows users to estimate for a particular site the value per acre of protected land generated from hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching.

Identify, quantify, and communicate the economic benefits of implementing state Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies – Presents a typology of economic values generated by wildlife conservation and discusses different valuation approaches. Selects a sample of priority conservation areas identified in selected state Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies and develops quantitative estimates of the economic values generated by the conservation of these areas.

Economic benefits analysis of natural areas in Florida – Estimates economic direct use, ecosystem service, and passive use values generated by a sample of areas protected under the Florida Forever Act and Florida’s Preservation 2000 program.

Valuation of Habitat Restoration in Yolo and Solano Counties of California – In cooperation with Yolo County Resource Conservation District and the University of California at Davis, the Conservation Economics Program will be estimating the economic benefits associated with the restoration of riparian and grassland habitats on farm and ranchlands in Yolo and Solano Counties in Central California. This work will inform conservation incentive structure and policy in the agricultural sector.

Costs and Benefits of Habitat Restoration in Central Sands of Wisconsin – Defenders is cooperating with the University of Wisconsin, the International Crane Foundation, and the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Producers Association to estimate the market and non-market costs and benefits of restoring native oak savanna, prairie, and wetland habitats on agricultural operations in Central Wisconsin.

Economic impacts of live animal imports to the U.S. – Develops a framework for assessing the economic impacts of live animal imports to the U.S.; compiles available impact estimates; provides suggestions for improving the economic efficiency of live animal import regulations.