Classification and Valuation of Green Belt

Derived Ecosystem Goods and Services:

An Introduction

Dr. Rajiv Pandey

Scientist – Statistics
ICFRE
 OUTLINE

 Green Belt
 Why Accounting of Services
 Green Belt Ecosystem Functions
 Green Belt Ecosystem Goods and Services
 Valuing of Ecosystem Goods and Services
 What to do & how
 Green Belt

According to Wikipedia, a green

belt is a policy or land use
designation used in
land use planning to retain areas
of largely undeveloped, wild, or
agricultural land surrounding or
neighbouring urban areas.
Purpose of Green Belt
 protect natural or semi natural environments;
 improve air quality within urban areas;

 ensure that urban dwellers have access to countryside

 provision for educational and recreational opportunities;

and
 protect the unique character of rural communities which
might otherwise be absorbed by expanding suburbs.
 Green Belt Benefits +
ve

 For walking, camping, and biking

areas close to the cities and towns.
 Habitat for wild plants and animals.
 Cleaner air and water
 Better land use of areas within the
bordering cities.
 Recreation Purpose
Green Belt Benefits - ve

 Facilitate for high pricing of land and

building

 Spur the growth of areas much

further away from the city core than
if it had not existed, thereby actually
increasing urban sprawl.
 Services of Green Belt – Ecological View
Organismal ecology
Community Ecology –
Adaptation with
abiotic environment

Concerned with all sort of

ecology
Ecosystem ecology -
Concerned with Individual to Ecosystem
ecosystems Population Ecology –
No of Individuals –
Growth & Density
 What are Ecosystem Services?

 “Ecosystem services are the conditions and

processes through which natural ecosystems,
and the species that make them up, sustain and
fulfill human life.

 They maintain biodiversity and the production

of ecosystem goods and services.

 Daily, G. (ed.), 1997, Nature’s Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington D.C.
Important issues on
ecosystem services
 Three important issues :

(1) Identification of ecosystem services

(2) How much do people use

(3) Valuation of ecosystem services

 Eco

Goods

• Firewood
Why Valuation
Issue - Services and its Linkages

 Provide array of goods and services.

 Debate on ecosystem stresses and shocks

with reduction in the diversity
– Imbalancing the system
- No effect on system
Issue – Carbon Trading

It’s mine, it’s yours

Issue - Issue on climate change

Comparative study
Issue – Incorporation in National Accounts

Green Accounting

Under Forestry & Logging sector

•Forestry – planting & conservation of forests, gathering

of forest products, charcoal burning carried out in forests

•Logging – felling & rough cutting of trees,

•Farmyard wood

Lack of data
 Issue – Role in Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world's
time-bound and quantified targets for addressing basic
human rights
3.Promote gender
equality and
empower women

MDG7 Indicators

25. Proportion of land area covered by forest

Global 26. Ratio of area protected to maintain biological

diversity to surface area
requirements
27. Carbon dioxide emissions per capita and
consumption of ozone-depleting CFCs

‘In a world of plenty, 1 billion people are so poor, their lives are in
danger. How to change that for good’ March 6, 2005, TIME MAGAZINE

ESs can help solving problem of poverty and hunger

 Key Links Between MDG and the
Environment
Eradicate extreme poverty Protection and extraction for livelihood and well
being.
and hunger
Achieve universal primary Use of additional income on education
education
Promote gender equality Income from extractions
and empower women
Reduce child mortality Improved management of local watersheds result
into decrease of water borne disease

Improve maternal health Use of fuelwood generate Indoor air pollution

results into health hazards

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria Preventive environmental health measures

and other diseases
Develop a global Better climate
partnership for
development
Value of Green Belt
 Value of Green Belt

 Play a social role in easing tensions

 Improving psychological health;
 People simply feel better living around trees.
 Study demonstrated that hospital patients placed
in rooms with windows facing trees heal faster and
require shorter hospital stays (Ulrich, 1990).
 Therefore there is a need to look the Green Belt and Forest
in different way to visualise the real worth of it.

 This should include all goods & services derived from it.
How much worth? – Forest
Example

 100,000 species of pollinators, most important pollinator- honey bee-

is for agril and horticulture purposes, natural wild pollinator are
often forest species, their service is between $4 to $7 billion/year to
US agriculture

 Carbon storage: Tree and forest store “CARBON” a close primary

forest has 280 ton c/ha. when converted to jhum 200 ton c/ha
compared to a open forest with less than 100 ton carbon

 NTFP: 50 million people depend on NTFP. 40-60% for their annual

income

 Financial value of world timber (commercial and non commercial ) :

the annual value of world trade in industrial wood product is $140
billion

 We fail to value the goods and services generated by nature. We

treat them as free and limitless in nature
 Carbon value of India’s Forests

 Carbon value of India’s

forest US $ 24,000
million or Rs 1,20,000
crores.
 Incremental value –
1,500 crores
 Need of three levels of
information on ecosystem
services
At least three levels of research on ecosystem services:

(1) Identification of ecosystem services: How do people use nature?

Typology of Green Belt Ecosystem Goods &
Services (GBEG&S)

 Regulation Functions
 Habitat Functions

 Production Functions

 Information Functions
REGULATION FUNCTIONS
 the capacity of natural and semi-
natural ecosystems to regulate
essential ecological processes and life
support systems through bio-
geochemical cycles and other
biosphere processes.
processes
HABITAT FUNCTIONS
 Natural ecosystems provide refuge and
reproduction habitat to wild plants and animals
and contribute to the (in situ) conservation.
conservation
PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS

 Photosynthesisand nutrient uptake by

autotrophs converts energy, carbon
dioxide, water and nutrients into a wide
variety of carbohydrate structures used
by secondary producers to create an
even larger variety of living biomass.
biomass

Stat. Br., FRI

INFORMATION FUNCTIONS
 Provide an essential ‘reference function’
and contribute to the maintenance of
human health by providing
opportunities for reflection, spiritual
enrichment, cognitive development,
recreation and aesthetic experience.
experience
 Ecosystem Supporting Human
Provisioning Being
Regulating Cultural
Goods produced or Benefits obtained from Non-material benefits
provided by regulation of obtained from
ecosystems ecosystem processes ecosystems

•Food •Climate regulation •Spiritual

•Fresh water •Disease regulation •Recreational
•Fuel wood •Flood regulation •Aesthetic
•Inspirational
•Fiber
•Educational
•Biochemicals •Communal
•Genetic resources •Symbolic

Supporting
Services necessary for production of other
ecosystem services

•Soil formation
•Nutrient cycling
•Primary production
Ecosystem Services & their links to human well being;
MA, 2005

(1) Identification of Ecosystem Services –

How do people use nature?
Ecosystem Services classification from the
Millennium Assessment
CLASSIFICATION OF ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS,
GOODS AND SERVICES

 An overview of the main functions, goods and services

that can be attributed to natural ecosystems and their
associated ecological structures and processes for their
use in sustainable basis.
basis
 Regulation Function
– Maintenance of essential ecological processes and life support system

FUNCTION ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES &GOODS AND SERVICES

COMPONENTS
Gas regulation Role of ecosystems in bio-geochemical1.1 UVb-protection by O3 (preventing
cycles (e.g. CO2/O2 balance, ozone layer,disease),
etc.) 1.2 Maintenance of (good) air quality
1.3 Influence on climate
Climate Influence of land cover and biol. mediatedMaintenance of a favorable climate (temp.,
regulation (e.g. DMS-production) on climate precipitation, etc)

Disturbance Influence of ecosystem structure onStorm protection

prevention dampening env. disturbance
Water Role of land cover in regulating runoff &Drainage and natural irrigation.
regulation river discharge

Water supply Filtering, retention and storage of freshProvision of water for consumptive use
water (e.g. in aquifers) (e.g. drinking, irrigation and industrial use)

Soil retention Role of vegetation root matrix and soil biota6.1 Maintenance of arable land.
in soil retention. 6.2 Prevention of damage from
erosion/siltation
 Regulation Function
– Maintenance of essential ecological processes and life support system

FUNCTION ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES

PROCESSES &
COMPONENTS
Soil formation Weathering of rock, 7.1 Maintenance of productivity on arable
accumulation of organic matter land
matter 7.2 Maintenance of natural productive soils
Nutrient regulation Role of biota in storage and Maintenance of healthy soil and productive ecosystems
re-cycling of nutrients (eg.
N, P & S)
Waste treatment Role of vegetation & biota 9.1 Pollution control/detoxification
in removal or breakdown of 9.2 Filtering of dust particles
xenic nutrients and 9.3 Abatement of noise pollution
compounds

Pollination Role of biota in movement 10.1 Pollination of wild plant species

of floral gametes 10.2 Pollination of crops.

Biological control Population control through 11.1 Control of pests and diseases
trophic-dynamic relations 11.2 Reduction of herbivory (crop damage)
 Habitat Function –
Providing habitat (suitable living space) for wild plant and animal species

FUNCTION ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES &GOODS AND SERVICES

COMPONENTS

Refugium function Suitable living space for wild Maintenance of biological and
plants and animal genetic diversity

Nursery function Suitable reproduction habitats Maintenance of commercially

harvested species
 Production Functions –
Provision of natural resources
FUNCTION ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES &GOODS AND SERVICES
COMPONENTS

Food Conversion of solar energy into14.1 Gathering of fruits, etc

edible plants and animals 14.2 Small-scale subsistence farming

Raw materials Conversion of solar energy into15.1 Fuel and energy (e.g. fuel wood, organic matter).
biomass for human construction15.2 Fodder and fertilizer (e.g. krill, leaves, litter).
and other uses

Genetic resources Genetic material and evolution in16.1 Improve crop resistance to pathogens & pests.
wild plants and animals 16.2 Other applications (e.g. health care)

Medicinal Variety in (bio)chemicalDrugs and pharmaceuticals.

resources substances in, and other medicinal
uses of, natural biota

Ornamental Variety of biota in naturalResources for handicraft, pets,

resources ecosystems with (potential)worship, etc.
ornamental use
 Information Function –
Providing opportunities for cognitive development

FUNCTION ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES &GOODS AND SERVICES

COMPONENTS

Aesthetic information Attractive landscape features Enjoyment of scenery (scenic roads,

housing, etc.)

Recreation Variety in landscapes withTravel to natural ecosystems for

(potential) recreational uses eco-tourism, outdoor sports, etc.

Cultural and artistic information Variety in natural features withUse of nature as motive in books,
cultural and artistic value film, painting, folklore, national
symbols, architect., advertising,
etc.

Spiritual and historic information Variety in natural features withUse of nature for religious purposes
spiritual and historic value (i.e. heritage value of natural
ecosystems and
features)

Science and education Variety in nature with scientific andUse of natural systems for school
educational value excursions, etc.
Use of nature for scientific research

Stat. Br., FRI

(2) How much do people use (e.g. what proportion of ecosystem flows)? And how
important is the ecosystem flow to the people who use it?

Short answer:

• People use a significant fraction of ecosystem flows of carbon,

nutrients and water .

• Poor urban households gets wood energy.

• Green areas also provide opportunities for many kinds of formal and
informal enterprise related to recreation.

• In France, one park charge 20 pound/H for fresh air.

Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, http://www.MAweb.org

(2) How much do people use (e.g. what proportion of ecosystem flows)? And how
important is the ecosystem flow to the people who use it?

Some examples:

• Cultivated systems cover about a quarter of terrestrial land area

• People use about half of earth’s renewable water
• N flows have doubled, P flows tripled, due to human use
• Atmospheric CO2 has increased about 32% since 1750
• The shade of one large tree may reduce the temperature of a given building to the
same extent as would 15 air conditioners at 4000 British thermal units (BTU),
i.e. 4220 kJ, in a similar but unshaded building.
• Energy saving through tree-planting around houses ranges from 10 to 50 percent
for cooling and from 4 to 22 percent for heating.
(2) How much do people use (e.g. what proportion of ecosystem
flows)? And how important is the ecosystem flow to the people
who use it?

• There is a lot of regional variability and so far the data are uneven
geographically.

• Data are best for provisioning services.

• Regulating services are poorly quantified, poorly known (outside of

ecology), and often traded off against provisioning services.

• People are highly aware of cultural services but so far these are
poorly integrated in quantitative assessments.
(3) Valuation of ecosystem services: How
“valuable” are ecosystem services in
comparison with other things?

• Because all life rests on ecosystem services, in one

sense the value is infinity.

• However, many decisions involve tradeoffs among

ecosystem services (e.g. agriculture-food-
biodiversity). Valuation can provide information
relevant for evaluating these tradeoffs.
Quantification of these services is not an
easy task.

How to value them

&
Which way

?
 Values of Green Belt –
which means
(Instrumental, Intrinsic, Social, Cultural &
Ecological)
 Instrumental Value

• Instrumental value derives from some

objective function, i.e. the goal or
purpose that is being sought.
sought Example
- maximising scenic beauty

• Economic value is anthropocentric which

stresses values that brings to benefits to
human beings - and it is preference based.
 Intrinsic Value

• If the objective, residing 'in'

the object, then it will exist
regardless of its valuers, and
known as intrinsic value.

Example – Increase in
Biodiversity
 Socio-Cultural Value

• The socio-cultural value mainly relates

to the Information Functions and
deals for traditional, historical or
religious reasons.
 Ecological Value

• The ‘Ecological Value’ or importance of a

given ecosystem is, determined both by
the integrity of the Regulation and
Habitat Functions of the ecosystem and
by ecosystem parameters such as
complexity, diversity, and rarity.

• Based on ecological criteria such as

integrity, resilience, and resistance
 Why instrumental value
• Focusing on instrumental values is not intended to
suggest that other values are less important.

• But instrumental values have a specific feature

which makes them relevant to contexts where it is
necessary to 'trade' one value against another.

• Because instrumental value is derived from

human attitudes, wants and appreciation of
the object, it is possible to weigh up one gain
against another gain, and a gain against a
loss.
 A typology of the uses of values
Context Type of values
Demonstrating the importance of Green Belt All notions of value: moral, spiritual, cultural, aesthetic, economic,
conservation and sustainable use: awareness ecological
raising
Determining damages for loss of Green Belt in Economic approaches most relevant since they produce money
liability regimes. estimates of damage that could constitute liability.
Revising the national economic accounts to (a) Economic approaches are required for full national accounting.
reflect the values of goods and services. (b) Physical indicators - e.g. hectarage lost or gained, are adequate
for 'satellite accounting'

Land use decisions: e.g. Multi-criteria techniques, cost-effectiveness and costbenefit all
- encouraging conservation, sustainable forestry relevant. Involves a notion of cost of policy measure and some
or agro-forestry relative to other land uses (e.g. measure of effectiveness (e.g. biodiversity, value of outputs).
agriculture) Multi-attribute techniques can include spiritual, cultural values etc.
- setting priorities for protected forest areas but this raises problems of measurability and trade-off against
other values.

Limiting biological invasions Cost-effectiveness procedures: cost of measure needs to be

compared to expected conservation of diversity.
Encouraging eco-certification of products Economic approaches would compare costs of certification with
willingness to pay for certified products.

Table shows that economic valuation can have many different uses, but that non-
economic 'physical' indicators are also useful.
 ECONOMIC CRITERIA
–

BENEFITS AND COSTS

Benefits Costs

Anythingthat  Anything that decreases

increases human
human welfare
welfare
 Valuation based on
Valuation based on
opportunity costs (benefits
public’s WTP (or
foregone due to use of
WTA)
resources)
COMPONENTS OF TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUE
(TEV)
Use values Non-use values
Direct use Indirect Option Bequest Existence
values use values values values values

Value of goods Value of goods Value of future Value Value attached

or services or services use (direct and reflecting the to the fact that
having direct having indirect indirect) or wish to allow a given good
utility utility future non-use descendants to exists
(consumption benefit from
or production) use and non-
use values

Fuelwood, Nutrient Recreation Landscape, Biodiversity,

Recreation recycling, opportunity recreation Habitats
Water
purification
METHODS OF MONETARY VALUATION OF
THE ENVIRONMENT

Direct valuation Indirect

valuation
revealed preferences stated no preference
preference
s
on real market on on fictitious
substitute market
market
- change in - hedonistic contingent - dose-effect
productivity prices valuation method
- expenditure on - transport method - replacement
protection costs costs
- substitutable
goods
MONETISING IMPACTS

 When markets do not exist

 Environmental impacts
 Cultural heritage impacts
 Health impacts
 Economic valuation methods
 Travelcost, hedonic prices, Avertive Action
 Contingent valuation, choice modelling
NON-MARKET VALUATION
TECHNIQUES
T e c h n i q u e s o f E n v ir o n m e

R e v e a l e d P r e f e S r e t a n t c e e d M P er e t h f e o r d e s n c
- A c t u a l b e h a v i- o I u n r t e n d e d a c t
- I m p l i e d W T P - E x p r e s s e d W

T r a v e l C o s t M eC t oh no td i n g e n t V a

H e d o n i c M e t h o C d hs o i c e M o d e

A v e r t i v e E x p e n d it u r e s
How to do Economic
Valuation?
 Economic Value
Economic valuation methods fall into four
basic types, each with its own repertoire of
associated measurement issues:
(1) direct market valuation,
(2) indirect market valuation,
(3) contingent valuation,
(4) group valuation.
 Indirect market valuation
When there are no explicit markets for
services, we must resort to more indirect
means of assessing values.

Non-market valuation techniques are

twofold. The first involves looking for
markets where the ecosystem affects that
market, even though the service is not
bought and sold directly. This is
revealed preference procedure.
Another is stated preference and
essentially a questionnaire based
approach in which individuals are asked
attitudinal questions about the ecosystem
goods & services, and their willingness
to pay to conserve the good or improve
its quality etc.
 Avoided Cost
• Services allow society
to avoid costs that
would have been
incurred in the absence
of those services.

• Examples are flood

control (which avoids
property damages) and
waste treatment (which
avoids health costs) by
wetlands.

Trees intercept dust: a belt of trees measuring 30 meters in

width has been found to intercept almost all dust in the air.
 Replacement Cost
• Services could be
replaced with human-
made systems.

• An example is natural
waste treatment by
marshes which can be
(partly) replaced with
costly artificial treatment
systems.

Keller (1979) has quantified an 85 percent reduction in

lead behind a shelter-belt of trees.
 Travel Cost
(revealed preference)

• The use of ecosystem

services may require
travel. The travel costs
can be seen as a
reflection of the
implied value of the
service.

• The willingness to pay

is inferred from
expenditures on travel
to and from the green
belt for recreational
purposes.
 Discrete Choice Method
(revealed preference)
• The values are inferred by looking
at the choices people make
between two alternatives.

• An example would be certificated

timber: if individuals are willing to
pay more for certified timber than
for identical non-sustainable
timber, the increment reflects
individuals' valuation of the
environmental benefits from
sustainable timber regimes.
 Hedonic Pricing
(revealed preference)

• Service demand may be

reflected in the prices people
will pay for associated goods;

• An example would be the

value of property located
near to green belt. If
other things equal, then
prices will be higher in
comparison to others.
The differential in the
house price is a first
approximation of the
economic value of the
green belt.
 Contingent valuation (CV)
(stated preference)

• Service demand may be

elicited by posing hypothetical
scenarios that involve the
description of alternatives in a
social survey questionnaire.

• For example, a survey

questionnaire might ask
respondents to express their
willingness to pay (i.e. their
stated preference as opposed
to revealed preference) to
increase the level of water
quality in a stream, lake or
river so that they might enjoy
activities like swimming,
boating, or fishing.
 Group valuation
• Another approach to ecosystem
service valuation that has gained
increasing attention recently
involves group deliberation.

• Derived from social and political

theory, this valuation approach is
based on principles of deliberative
democracy and the assumption
that public decision making
should result, not from the
aggregation of separately
measured individual preferences,
but from open public debate.
 What to do & how
Data related to ecosystem
services should be collected
(to be decided by
consultative meetings)

• Valuation – Ecological, Social

or economical (Units should
be identical and probably
should have parlance with
global scenario)
• For some functions it should
be in totality
• For some functions it should
be on sample basis
• Period & Time Interval (What
should be time interval)
 A Few Study (Future)

Green Belt obtained EG&S worth

(values) for
• Fodder
• Medicines (By dwellers & Industries)
• Noise Abatement
• Soil Amelioration
• Strom Control
• Waste treatment
• Potable Water
• Aesthetic
• …
 Thanks

Contact Address

Dr Rajiv Pandey
Scientist
EIA Division
Indian Council of Forestry
Research & Education
(ICFRE)
Dehradun, India

Phone: +91 0 9412918634