Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL

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Economic valuation of nature, forest and landscape

Natural habitats, beautiful landscapes and diverse forests provide great potential for recreation and revitalization, tourism and quality of life for inhabitants. At the same time, these habitats supply a range of additional benefits for society, such as maintaining biodiversity, protecting against climate change and natural hazards as well as shaping the cultural identity of the local population.

Brätlistelle Grimmimutz im Diemtigtal (Bild: Regionaler Naturpark Diemtigtal)
Barbecue place Grimmimutz, Diemtigtal (Image: Regionaler Naturpark Diemtigtal)
Reiten im Diemtigtal (Bild: Regionaler Naturpark Diemtigtal)
Horseback riding in Diemtigtal (Image: Regionaler Naturpark Diemtigtal)

How can the impacts of nature and landscape on society be measured and valued? How do economic activities affect nature and the environment? We address these questions with scientific methods and distinguish between several aspects:

  • Economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services, provided to people by nature, forest and landscapes.
  • Possibilities to realize the value of, as well as payments for these goods and services by private and public institutions.
  • Calculation of the costs to maintain these goods and services.
  • Estimation of the financial effects of nature, forests and landscapes on regional economies.

 

The work of WSL`s “Economics and Social Sciences” investigates the following research themes:

  • Measures and strategies to realize the economic value of nature and landscapes.
  • Regional potential of sustainable agriculture and forestry on cultural heritage landscapes.
  • Economic valuation of cultural and environmental goods and services provided by nature, forests and (heritage) landscape.
  • Economic investigation of the effects of nature-oriented tourism and other economic activities on added value and employment.
  • Economic and societal effects of parks and other protected areas.Societal attitudes towards measures to valorize nature and landscapes.

Publications

Olschewski R. (2022) Leistungen und Werte des Waldes. In C. Ferrer, T. Hildebrand, & C. Martinez-Cañavate (Eds.), Touch wood. Material, Architektur, Zukunft. Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers. 48-53. Institutional Repository DORA

Unterberger C., Olschewski R. (2021) Determining the insurance value of ecosystems: a discrete choice study on natural hazard protection by forests. Ecol. Econ. 180, 106866 (16 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106866Institutional Repository DORA

Villamayor-Tomas S., Sagebiel J., Rommel J., Olschewski R. (2021) Types of collective action problems and farmers’ willingness to accept agri-environmental schemes in Switzerland. Ecosyst. Serv. 50, 101304 (15 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2021.101304Institutional Repository DORA

Müller A., Olschewski R., Unterberger C., Knoke T. (2020) The valuation of forest ecosystem services as a tool for management planning - a choice experiment. J. Environ. Manag. 271, 111008 (13 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111008Institutional Repository DORA

Hou G., Delang C.O., Lu X., Olschewski R. (2019) Valuing carbon sequestration to finance afforestation projects in China. Forests. 10(9), 754 (20 pp.). https://doi.org/10.3390/f10090754Institutional Repository DORA

Müller A., Knoke T., Olschewski R. (2019) Can existing estimates for ecosystem service values inform forest management? Forests. 10(2), 132 (17 pp.). https://doi.org/10.3390/f10020132Institutional Repository DORA

Villamayor-Tomas S., Sagebiel J., Olschewski R. (2019) Bringing the neighbors in: a choice experiment on the influence of coordination and social norms on farmers' willingness to accept agro-environmental schemes across Europe. Land Use Policy. 84, 200-215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.03.006 Institutional Repository DORA

Bade S., Olschewski R., von Grünigen S. (2018) Konzeption für ein Choice Experiment zur Bewertung von 6 Ökosystemleistungen im Schweizer Wald. econcept AG; Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL. 26 p. Institutional Repository DORA

Bösch M., Elsasser P., Franz K., Lorenz M., Moning C., Olschewski R., … Weller P. (2018) Forest ecosystem services in rural areas of Germany: insights from the national TEEB study. Ecosyst. Serv. 31, 77-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.03.014 Institutional Repository DORA

Olschewski R. (2018) Einführung in die ökonomische Bewertung von Umweltgütern. Umweltr. Prax. 32(2), 147-154. Institutional Repository DORA

Olschewski R. (2017) Bewertung von Ökosystemleistungen: eine Bestandsaufnahme. Schweiz. Z. Forstwes. 168(1), 3-13. https://doi.org/10.3188/szf.2017.0003 Institutional Repository DORA

Projects

Deliberative diets: Connecting producers and consumers to value the sustainability of Swiss food system scenarios

The environmental, social and economic impacts of feeding the Swiss population are immense, and largely fall outside of Swiss borders. New, harmonized and transdisciplinary methods are needed to track these multidimensional impacts to support new dialogues between science, society and policy in orde

Determining the Insurance Value of Ecosystems (DIVES)

The project expands the scientific bases for insurance services of forests and defines their value from the population’s perspective. In this way we can enhance the awareness of human dependence on natural resources and foster their inclusion in political, economic and individual decision-making.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services

Biological diversity has a huge potential to preserve and support agricultural ecosystem services. This project analyses the impact of agricultural and environmental policies on biodiversity and ecosystem services of agricultural production systems.

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