Bringing ecosystem services into economic decision-making: Land use in the United Kingdom

Ian J. Bateman, Amii R. Harwood, Georgina M. Mace, Robert T. Watson, David J. Abson, Barnaby Andrews, Amy Binner, Andrew Crowe, Brett H. Day, Steve Dugdale, Carlo Fezzi, Jo Foden, David Hadley, Roy Haines-Young, Michael Hulme, Andreas Kontoleon, Andrew A. Lovett, Paul Munday, Unai Pascual, Jeremy PatersonGrischa Perino, Antara Sen, Gavin Siriwardena, Daan van Soest, Mette Termansen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

832 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Landscapes generate a wide range of valuable ecosystem services, yet land-use decisions often ignore the value of these services. Using the example of the United Kingdom, we show the significance of land-use change not only for agricultural production but also for emissions and sequestration of greenhouse gases, open-access recreational visits, urban green space, and wild-species diversity. We use spatially explicit models in conjunction with valuation methods to estimate comparable economic values for these services, taking account of climate change impacts. We show that, although decisions that focus solely on agriculture reduce overall ecosystem service values, highly significant value increases can be obtained from targeted planning by incorporating all potential services and their values and that this approach also conserves wild-species diversity.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)45-50
Number of pages6
JournalScience
Volume341
Issue number6141
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Jul 2013

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