Estimating societal benefits from Nordic catchments: An integrative approach using a final ecosystem services framework

Immerzeel, Bart; Vermaat, Jan E.; Riise, Gunnhild; Juutinen, Artti; Futter, Martyn N.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252352

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Similarly, Getzner (2015) found that recreational value is higher on free-flowing sections than on dammed stretches of rivers for diverse recreational activities on the Mur River in Austria, and Immerzeel et al (2021) reported that recreation is among the most valued ecosystem services in Nordic catchments. On the other hand, recreational use might not be that important for all individuals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Estimating the economic value of hydropeaking externalities in regulated rivers

Ruokamo

Juutinen

Ashraf

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Hydropower is a flexible form of electricity generation providing both baseload and balancing power to accommodate intermittent renewables in the energy mix. However, hydropower also generates various externalities. This study investigates individuals’ preferences for policies aiming to reduce short-term regulations (i.e., hydropeaking in regulated rivers) while accounting for associated externalities with a discrete choice experiment. This is the first valuation study focusing on hydropeaking that considers both negative and positive externalities. The results imply that most individuals prefer stronger restrictions on short-term regulations to mitigate local environmental impacts. Individuals especially value improvements in recreational use, fish stocks, and the ecological state. On the other hand, potential increases in CO2 emissions are linked with a clear disutility. The estimated benefits obtained from an improved state of the river environment due to such restrictions probably exceed the disutility caused by increased CO2 emissions. The results also reveal unobserved preference heterogeneity among individuals, which should be accounted for in the willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimation using a model specification with correlated utility coefficients. Overall, the findings can inform policy-makers and environmental managers on the economic value of hydropeaking externalities and further guide the sustainable management of rivers regulated for hydropower generation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Estimating the economic value of hydropeaking externalities in regulated rivers

Ruokamo

Juutinen

Ashraf

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…We deployed the Mononen cascade (Immerzeel et al, 2021;Mononen et al, 2016;Vermaat et al, 2020Vermaat et al, , 2021 to relate plant cover to a range of final services via the effect on ecosystem functions (i.e. intermediate services; Boyd & Banzhaf, 2007).…”

Section: Ecosystem Services Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used data from extensive questionnaires carried out for the MadMacs project (for detailed description of the questionnaires and their collection see Thiemer et al, 2023) at each site to estimate the values of cultural services (cf. Immerzeel et al, 2021Immerzeel et al, , 2022. The onsite collection of the printed surveys was done in accordance with the COVID-19 restrictions prevalent at the given time for each site.…”

Section: Ta B L E 3 (Continued)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We did so in five different case studies where mass development of aquatic plants is considered a nuisance and is managed. We systematically used the Mononen cascade framework (Immerzeel et al, 2021;Mononen et al, 2016;Vermaat et al, 2020Vermaat et al, , 2021, which allows for a standardized comparison among cases and management measures using monetary value estimates. While our comparisons use monetary value estimates, we do not intend to imply that these can be directly transferable Hartbeespoort Dam, because of the effect on boating and angling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mass development of aquatic plants: Effects of contrasting management scenarios on a suite of ecosystem services

Vermaat,

Thiemer,

Immerzeel

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Dense beds of aquatic plants are often perceived as nuisance and therefore mechanically removed, often at substantial cost. Such removal, however, may affect a range of ecosystem functions and consequently also the ecosystem services that benefit society. We studied five cases: River Otra (Norway), River Spree (Germany), Lake Kemnade (Germany), Lake Grand‐Lieu (France) and Hartbeespoort Dam (South Africa). In all, nuisance aquatic plant growth is managed, but dominant species, geographic setting and major societal uses are different. We quantified 12 final ecosystem services as flows per area and year in biophysical and monetary terms. Quantified services were food and fodder production, commercial fisheries, hunting and gathering wild products, hydropower production, drinking and irrigation water production, flood prevention, carbon sequestration, active and passive recreation and biodiversity conservation (nonuse). These services were related to aquatic plant cover via a range of ecosystem functions, and the effects were estimated of three plant removal regimes on the relative importance of the quantified ecosystem services and on the total sum of the monetary estimates (total economic value, TEV). The three removal regimes were ‘maximum removal’, ‘current practice’ and ‘do nothing’. In all five cases, TEV was dominated by different forms of recreation. TEV was highest for Lake Kemnade, where visitor densities were highest. TEV was most sensitive to the different management regimes in Lake Kemnade, because a threshold in aesthetic appreciation was passed in the ‘do‐nothing’ regime, and in Hartbeespoort Dam, because of the effect on boating and angling. In the other cases, the different removal regimes had little effect on the estimated TEV. Synthesis and applications. Since recreation dominated the estimated societal benefits in the studied ecosystems, also where provision of hydropower, drinking water or irrigation water were relevant, effects on recreation should be a core consideration in the management of nuisance aquatic plants. Furthermore, aquatic plant management strategies will benefit from taking into account the differences in perceived nuisance among different categories of recreative users before engaging in costly removal.

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“…Furthermore, some solutions perceived as beneficial for the well-being of society as a whole might not be beneficial for a particular neighborhood or individuals and vice versa. Gains for one group of people or society than might be negated by losses of other groups (Immerzeel et al, 2021). For all these reasons, how NBS influences human well-being has been also increasingly investigated in different contexts and scopes.…”

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confidence: 99%

What benefits are the most important to you, your community, and society? Perception of ecosystem services provided by nature‐based solutions

Hekrle

2022

WIREs Water

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Ecosystem services (ES) provided by nature-based solutions (NBS) have been examined using various data collection techniques and preference elicitation methods to understand what ES are important to human well-being. This article provides a systematic review of 153 scientific publications, with a focus on data collection techniques and perspectives of well-being used when eliciting preferences toward multiple ES provided by NBS. ES provided by urban parks,urban trees, and community gardens are the most commonly examined; however, generally specified NBS such as "green spaces" or "green infrastructure" prevail. The review further shows that the questionnaire surveys is the dominant technique for bringing evidence about the most preferred ES, followed by semi-structured interviews and workshops. Only a limited number of studies use revealed or stated preference methods as a part of data collection efforts such as a choice experiment or contingent valuation. Additionally, the review defines three different perspectives of well-being considered but rarely discussed in existing studies: individual; community; and society well-being perspectives. As the concept of well-being is hardly discussed in NBS literature and still depends on a large degree of subjectivity, this review highlights the need for future research that looks more deeply at individual, community, and social well-being, which is influenced differently by the implementation of NBS.

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Estimating societal benefits from Nordic catchments: An integrative approach using a final ecosystem services framework

Cited by 12 publications

References 55 publications

Estimating the economic value of hydropeaking externalities in regulated rivers

Estimating the economic value of hydropeaking externalities in regulated rivers

Mass development of aquatic plants: Effects of contrasting management scenarios on a suite of ecosystem services

What benefits are the most important to you, your community, and society? Perception of ecosystem services provided by nature‐based solutions

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