Tools for Valuing Marine Ecosystem Services

This inventory summarizes the functionality of marine ecosystem services valuation tools and examples of their application.

A variety of modeling tools provide resource managers and stakeholders with the capabilities to assign, analyze, and compare the value of marine ecosystem
services (MES). Several of these valuation tools exist, each with its own unique parameters, scale, and applications.

Building upon previous work by other practitioners, including the Center for Ocean Solutions,1 SeaPlan compiled an inventory of 15 marine ecosystem services
valuation tools to highlight the range in technical capabilities and applications. This inventory includes tools that have been used for several years in many
applications, and others that have only been more recently developed. We present each tool along with hyperlinks to the host website and example study
publication, a brief description, and other supplementary information.

Tool Example Study

Tool Tool Description Study Scale Additional Study Notes
Developer Study Publication
ARtificial Intelligence for Ecosystem
Developed and tested flow models for marine ecosystem
Services (ARIES) is an open-source
services constructed for subsistence fisheries and coastal
modeling platform for mapping potential ARIES Wendland et al.
ARIES Madagascar Local storm regulation in order to target incentivized basis of
provision of ecosystem services and Consortium 2010
biodiversity preservation and ecosystem service
valuation through ecological process and
conservation.
ad hoc probabilistic Bayesian models.

Atlantis is a deterministic whole- Commonwealth

Strategic exploration of broad fishery management
ecosystem model, with sub-models for Scientific and
options for both groundfish and ecosystem services in
biophysical ecological processes, Industrial California
Atlantis Ecosystem Kaplan et al. 2012 the California Current. Status quo management was
exploitation, sampling/assessment, and Research Current
examined along with 20-year projections of several gear
rules/management actions to fully cover Organization
switching and spatial management scenarios.
adaptive management cycle. (CSIRO)

Tool for Marine Biological Valuation

Integrated study on nature's intrinsic value in intertidal
Mapping (BVMtool) is a set of R scripts
and subtidal coastal subzones, relative to each other,
that automate marine biological
Flanders Marine Belgian North Vanden Eede et using R scripts. Script outputs are biological valuation
BVMtool valuation calculations based on species Coastal Zone
Institute Sea Coast al. 2014 maps for use as management tools and allow for
density observations data displayed as
integration of these values early in policy
raster grid cells or habitat classification
implementation.
polygons.

1
The Center for Ocean Solutions, 2011, Decision Guide: Selecting Decision Support Tools for Marine Spatial Planning, The Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford
University, CA.
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 Tool Example Study
Tool Tool Description Study Scale Additional Study Notes
Developer Study Publication
Coastal Capital Valuation Tool was
Coastal developed for Caribbean communities to Excel Macros that, when given data on fisheries, coral
World
Capital measure valuation for tourism, reefs, mangroves, tourism & recreation, and MPAs, use
Resources Caribbean Sea Regional Waite et al. 2014
Valuation recreation, and fisheries, and the set equations to produce monetary valuations of these
Institute
Tool economic impact of Marine Protected services specific to the Caribbean region.
Areas (MPAs).

Envision is an open-source GIS-based

tool for scenario-based integrated
Bainbridge Calculated metrics for aquatic ecosystem function,
planning assessments. The platform
Oregon State Island, PNNL Marine including fish spawning areas, habitat types, and shellfish
Envision integrates a variety of spatially explicit Local
University Washington, Science Lab 2006 presence per drift cell or management zone, to guide
models of landscape change processes
USA appropriate restoration action.
and production for alternative futures
analyses.

Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem

Integrated coastal zone management plan for Belize
Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) is a suite
designed with seven scenarios to depict ecosystems
of open-source spatially-explicit software
Natural Capital services outcomes under planning options at the local
InVEST models that use maps and other Belize Coastal Zone Clarke et al. 2013
Project level. InVEST models on habitat risk assessment, coastal
information to value ecosystem services
protection, recreation, and spiny lobster used to assess
in resulting biophysical or economic
change in ecosystem services.
terms.

InVitro is an agent-based ecosystem- Single-sector biophysical and resource exploitation sub-

level management strategy evaluation models combined with models of management
Northwest Sub-
InVitro modeling framework used to consider CSIRO NWSJEMS 2010 operations to capture whole system dynamics. Simulates
Shelf Australia Regional
multiple use management questions for the effects of human activity in an economically and
the marine environment. ecologically important region of Australia.

Integrates a number of data layers published by ESRI,

Madrona is a flexible set of hierarchical
NOAA, and The Nature Conservancy. In addition to the
data layers, spatial features, and MARCO Mid-
Mid-Atlantic ArcGIS, Arc2Earth, and OpenLayers data publishing
Madrona software for decision support and area- Ecotrust Regional Atlantic Ocean
Region, USA workflow, this project takes advantage of tools and
based planning with various levels of Data Portal
technologies including Tilemill, Tilestache, Knockout JS,
models and analysis.
and UTF-grids.

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 Tool Example Study
Tool Tool Description Study Scale Additional Study Notes
Developer Study Publication

Marxan is a conservation planning Ecosystem-based framework to designate a hierarchy of

software that provides decision support zones into three management levels (general, special,
British Columbia
in new reserve design, reserve University of British Sub- and protected) according to extensive stakeholder input,
Marxan sub-regional
performance, and developing multiple- Queensland Columbia, CAN Regional biophysical, and economic data. Siting of each zone was
marine plans
use zoning plans for natural resource based on tradeoff analyses for least conflict and optimal
allocation management. effect among uses.

Multi-scale Integrated Models of Ecosystem service tradeoffs (wind energy development,

Ecosystem Services (MIMES) is a set of University of forage fish fishery, and bottom habitat disturbance)
models that assess the value of Vermont Gund were outlined in detail through a narrative document to
Massachusetts Altman et al.
MIMES ecosystem services in addressing Institute for Regional organize necessary information. Development relied
Bay, USA 2012
ecosystem dynamics, human well-being Ecological heavily on these narratives to provide a detailed outline
from services, and how various Economics of ecological and economic flows and to translate these
management scenarios affect valuation. into modeled equations.

Resource Investment Optimization

Analysis focused on the benefits that would arise from a
System (RIOS) is a watershed
$10 million investment over a 10 year period focusing on
management tool that combines
The Nature sediment retention and the maintenance of base flows in
biophysical, social, and economic data to Natural Capital Upper Tana
RIOS Watershed Conservancy three priority sub-watersheds. Results projected a 50%
help users identify the best locations for Project Basin, KEN
2015 reduction in sediment concentration, a 15% increase in
protection and restoration activities to
annual water yields, and an expected ROI of $21.5
maximize ecological return on
million over 30 years.
investment (ROI).

Simple and Effective Resource for
Valuing Ecosystem Services (SERVES) is
an internal tool for calculating the
SERVES economic value of natural capital,
intended to realign economic incentives
with ecological and financial
sustainability.
Study valued 14 (of 21) ecosystem services present in the
Basin, and a benefit transfer methodology was applied
Long Island using over 40 primary ecological economic valuation
Earth Economics Sound Basin, Coastal Zone Kocian et al. 2015 studies from the US East Coast. Studies made use of
USA multiple valuation methodologies, including market
pricing, cost avoidance, replacement cost, travel cost,
hedonic values, and contingent valuation.

Social Values for Ecosystem Services Examined statistically significant spatial clustering across
(SolVES) uses a quantitative 'value-index' Rocky Mountain two subgroups of the survey population for three value
from spatial and non-spatial information Geographic Hinchinbrook types that reflect recreation, biological diversity, and
Van Riper et al.
SolVES to calculate underlying metrics of the Science Center, Island National Local aesthetic qualities. The relationship between the relative
2012
environment and assess, map, and Colorado State Park, AUS importance of social values for ecosystem services and
quantify social values of ecosystem University spatially-defined ecological data is explored to guide
services. management decision making.

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 Tool Example Study
Tool Tool Description Study Scale Additional Study Notes
Developer Study Publication

Current baseline and three future scenarios for the years

Vista is an ArcGIS extension for advanced
spatial analysis to integrate conservation
with planning, ecosystem-based
Vista
management, ecosystem-based
adaptation, and scenario-based
planning.
2025, 2050, and 2100 were evaluated by intersecting
priority resource distributions with each of the spatially
Eastern Shore,
NatureServe Regional Crist et al. 2012 defined scenarios to predict effects of stressors on
VA, USA
resources. Habitat- and species-based priority resources
were examined, as well as the potential impacts of sea
level rise on critical infrastructure.

Zonation produces a hierarchical Conservation

Analyzed distributions of 96 demersal fish species
landscape prioritization based on Biology
through statistical learning and conservation
occurrence level of biodiversity features Informatics Leathwick et al.
Zonation New Zealand National prioritization to produce MPA scenarios with varying
and iteratively removing least valuable Group - 2008
costs and benefits for New Zealand's Exclusive Economic
remaining cell while accounting for University of
Zone, conservation, and fisheries.
connectivity and complementarity. Helsinki