What are shared and social values of ecosystems?

Kenter, Jasper O.; O'Brien, Liz; Hockley, Neal; Ravenscroft, Neil; Fazey, Ioan; Irvine, Katherine N.; Reed, Mark S.; Christie, Michael; Brady, Emily; Bryce, Rosalind; Church, Andrew; Cooper, Nigel; Davies, Althea; Evely, Anna; Everard, Mark; Fish, Robert; Fisher, Janet A.; Jobstvogt, Niels; Molloy, Claire; Orchard-Webb, Johanne; Ranger, Susan; Ryan, Mandy; Watson, Verity; Williams, Susan

Abstract

© 2015. Social valuation of ecosystem services and public policy alternatives is one of the greatest challenges facing ecological economists today. Frameworks for valuing nature increasingly include shared/social values as a distinct category of values. However, the nature of shared/social values, as well as their relationship to other values, has not yet been clearly established and empirical evidence about the importance of shared/social values for valuation of ecosystem services is lacking. To help address these theoretical and empirical limitations, this paper outlines a framework of shared/social values across five dimensions: value concept, provider, intention, scale, and elicitation process. Along these dimensions we identify seven main, non-mutually exclusive types of shared values: transcendental, cultural/societal, communal, group, deliberated and other-regarding values, and value to society. Using a case study of a recent controversial policy on forest ownership in England, we conceptualise the dynamic interplay between shared/social and individual values. The way in which social value is assessed in neoclassical economics is discussed and critiqued, followed by consideration of the relation between shared/social values and Total Economic Value, and a review of deliberative and non-monetary methods for assessing shared/social values. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of shared/social values for decision-making.

Citation

Kenter, J. O., O'Brien, L., Hockley, N., Ravenscroft, N., Fazey, I., Irvine, K. N., …Williams, S. (2015). What are shared and social values of ecosystems?. Ecological Economics, 111, 86-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.01.006

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 22, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Feb 6, 2015
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Feb 18, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 21, 2016
• Journal: Ecological Economics
• Print ISSN: 0921-8009
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 111
• Pages: 86-99
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.01.006
• Keywords: shared values, social values, ecosystem services, environmental valuation, total economic value, deliberation, deliberative monetary valuation, non-monetary valuation, interpretive methods, psychological methods, decision-making
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/837951
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.01.006