Abstract
This book is concerned mainly with evaluating biodiversity for conservation. It would seem useful to put this aim into perspective by considering briefly some of the methods which have been proposed for valuing species and the environment. The direct or indirect contributions of the environment and biodiversity to a country’s economy have long been of interest. For example, there have been many attempts to quantify the direct contribution to a country’s economy from wild species, wild harvested resources and indirect benefits from ecosystems. The direct value of wildlife can be of different types (Table 1.5), that is the value of game animals or firewood is a consumptive use value and the value of commercially harvested wildlife such as fish and medicinal plants is the productive use value. Watershed forests, wind breaks and marshes acting as flood barriers all have indirect values which are non-consumptive.
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© 1992 Ian F. Spellerberg
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Spellerberg, I.F. (1992). Methods of valuing nature and the environment. In: Evaluation and Assessment for Conservation. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2302-0_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2302-0_3
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