Elsevier

Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem services: The economics debate

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Open access

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to illuminate the debate concerning the economics of ecosystem services. The sustainability argue focuses on whether or not ecosystem services are essential for human welfare and the being of ecological thresholds. If ecosystem services are essential, then marginal assay and monetary valuation are inappropriate tools in the vicinity of thresholds. The justice argue focuses on who is entitled to ecosystem services and the ecosystem structure that generates them. Answers to these questions take profound implications for the choice of suitable economic institutions. The efficiency debate concerns both the goals of economic action and the mechanisms best suited to accomplish those goals. Conventional economists pursue Pareto efficiency and the maximization of monetary value, achieved by integrating ecosystem services into the market framework. Ecological economists and many others pursue the less rigorously defined goal of achieving the highest possible quality of life uniform with the conservation of resilient, salubrious ecosystems, achieved by adapting economical institutions to the concrete characteristics of ecosystem services. The concept of ecosystem services is a valuable tool for economic analysis, and should non be discarded because of disagreements with detail economists' assumptions regarding sustainability, justice and efficiency.

Highlights

► Ecosystem services (ES) have generated several important debates in economic science. ► These debates business sustainability, justice and efficiency (SJ&E). ► Desirability of market allocation depends on how SJ&E are defined. ► Conventional and ecological economists have different definitions of SJ&Due east. ► Economic assessments of ES should explicitly state their assumption concerning SJ&E.

Keywords

Sustainability

Justice

Budgetary valuation

Thresholds

Pareto efficiency

Ecological-economic efficiency

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