On measuring economic values for nature

This paper describes how economists ascribe values to the things people can choose. The economic value of an ecosystem function or service relates to the contribution it makes to human welfare, where human welfare is measured in terms of each individual's own assessment of well-being. After developi ng how this definition is used, the paper describes problems and opportunit ies for advancing the state-of-the-art in measuring economic values for nat ure. These arguments are developed using recent studies that attempted to e stimate economic values for ecosystems on a global scale. One implication o f this evaluation is that there is a need for greater communication between ecologists and economists. Economic analyses must reflect the intricate we b of physical interrelationships linking activities that have harmful effec ts in one part of an ecosystem to the potential effects on other parts. At the same time, economic values for ecosystems accept consumer sovereignty a nd should be interpreted as descriptions of the tradeoffs involved in evalu ating well-defined changes to specific ecosystems.