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Abstract
We are increasingly confronted with severe social and economic impacts of environmental degradation all over the world. From a valuation perspective, environmental problems and conflicts originate from trade-offs between values. The urgency and importance to integrate nature's diverse values in decisions and actions stand out more than ever.
Valuation, in its broad sense of ‘assigning importance’, is inherently part of most decisions on natural resource and land use. Scholars from different traditions -while moving from heuristic interdisciplinary debate to applied transdisciplinary science- now acknowledge the need for combining multiple disciplines and methods to represent the diverse set of values of nature. This growing group of scientists and practitioners share the ambition to explore how combinations of ecological, socio-cultural and economic valuation tools can support real-life resource and land use decision-making.
The current sustainability challenges and the ineffectiveness of single-value approaches to offer relief demonstrate that continuing along a single path is no option. We advocate for the adherence of a plural valuation culture and its establishment as a common practice, by contesting and complementing ineffective and discriminatory single-value approaches. In policy and decision contexts with a willingness to improve sustainability, integrated valuation approaches can be blended in existing processes, whereas in contexts of power asymmetries or environmental conflicts, integrated valuation can promote the inclusion of diverse values through action research and support the struggle for social and environmental justice.
The special issue and this editorial synthesis paper bring together lessons from pioneer case studies and research papers, synthesizing main challenges and setting out priorities for the years to come for the field of integrated valuation.
Publication Date
12-1-2016
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal Title
Ecosystem Services
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Sander Jacobs, Nicolas Dendoncker, Berta Martín-López, David Nicholas Barton, Erik Gomez-Baggethun, Fanny Boeraeve, Francesca L. McGrath, Kati Vierikko, Davide Geneletti, Katharina J. Sevecke, Nathalie Pipart, Eeva Primmer, Peter Mederly, Stefan Schmidt, Alexandra Aragão, Himlal Baral, Rosalind H. Bark, Tania Briceno, Delphine Brogna, Pedro Cabral, Rik De Vreese, Camino Liquete, Hannah Mueller, Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Anna Phelan, Alexander R. Rincón, Shannon H. Rogers, Francis Turkelboom, Wouter Van Reeth, Boris T. van Zanten, Hilde Karine Wam, Carla-Leanne Washbourne, A new valuation school: Integrating diverse values of nature in resource and land use decisions, Ecosystem Services, Volume 22, Part B, 2016, Pages 213-220, ISSN 2212-0416, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.11.007.
Rights
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Comments
This is an Open Access article published by Elsevier in Ecosystem Services in 2016, available online: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.11.007