Estimation of Ecosystem Service Value

Themes

Sensitive habitats

PSBR model type

Benefits (B)

Corresponding targets

SDGs

15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.

Aichi Biodiversity Targets

Target 14: By 2020, provide important services such as water sources and ecosystems that contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being are secured and/or restored, including consideration of the needs of women, indigenous peoples and local communities, as well as the poor and vulnerable.

Biodiversity Action Plan

D31012 Consolidate information about the services, values, and benefits provided to the local and indigenous communities by the ecosystem. Key performance indicator of the action plan:

• The total number and increase of relevant information in local communities
• Traditional Aboriginal Biodiversity Survey

Background

Ecosystems are closely related to human well-being, such as providing food, regulating climate, and sequestering dust. Whether directly or indirectly, tangible or intangible, these benefits are called "ecosystem services". In 2005, the "Millennium Ecosystem Assessment" proposed by the United Nations concluded the relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being, and categorized ecosystem services into "supply services", "support services", "regulation services" and "cultural services". In 2007, the G8+5 Summit launched "The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)" initiative, and further classified the above four categories into 14 items including "forest recreation", "biodiversity and conservation”, “oxygen release”, “carbon sequestration, substitution of fossil fuels”, “prevention and control of surface collapse and landslide”, “water purification”, etc. The TEEB initiative was launched in the hope that the public would pay more attention to global economic benefits of biodiversity, the economic deficit caused by the loss of biodiversity, and the impact of failure to take appropriate protective measures on biodiversity, and take comprehensive evaluation and analysis of related issues. Considering Taiwan's ecological environment and current data status, out of the 14 ecosystem services of the TEEB initiative, "water purification", "carbon sequestration, substitution of fossil fuels" and "forest recreation" are first chosen to conduct the estimation on the values of ecosystem services.

Definition and Calculation

The value of ecosystem services refers to the evaluation of the benefits by finacial value that humans can obtain from the ecosystem. After quantifying the intensity of ecosystem service activities, the evaluation method and price coefficient can be selected to evaluate the value of ecosystem services. To cope with the current situation in Taiwan, the value of the three forest ecosystem services, "water purification", "ccarbon sequestration, substitution of fossil fuels" and "forest recreation", are first estimated. Ecosystem evaluation must be done within a fixed range of time and space, and different ecosystems require different estimation methods. To evaluate the ecosystem service functions, we must first define the scope and categories of "ecosystem services", and clearly define the functions that are ultimately used by humans, so as to avoid overlapping connotations of ecosystem service functions, which may result in repeated calculations in the evaluation.

• "Water purification". In Japan, the amount of water reserved per unit area of the forest can be obtained by subtracting evapotranspiration and surface runoff from the forest precipitation of different forest types and tree ages, then multiplying the above result with the area to obtain the total reserved water.
• "Carbon sequestration, alternative to fossil fuels": In China, the forest net growth weight per unit area is multiplied by the forest area to obtain forest production which is multiplied by 1.63 to obtain the weight of carbon dioxide fixation. The result is then multiplied by 27.27% to obtain the weight of tree carbon fixation. The weight of forest carbon dioxide fixation is the sum of the weights of trees and soil carbon fixation. Finally, the Swedish carbon tax price is used as the alternative cost.
• "Forest recreation": UK uses the expenses incurred in the natural environment and the expenses incurred during the visit, including fuel, public transportion fees, entrance fees and parking fees.

The data and temporal range

Trends

- (New methodology will be developed)

Data Management Authorities

Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture

References

• Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture (2015) The discussion on the application of forest ecosystem service value evaluation to forestry policy-making.
• Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture (2016) Research and analysis on the estimation and verification mechanism of forest ecosystem service value.
• Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture (2018) "Taiwan Forest Ecosystem Service Value Evaluation" Project Report
• Yi-Ping Wang, Chi-Rong Chiou (2017) Preliminary study on the estimation of forest ecosystem service value in Taiwan. Taiwan Forestry Journal, Vol.43 No.1, p3–11