IP04 Valuation of Ecological Resources
B115 & B116
1:20 PM - 4:40 PM, Monday
(IP027) Socio-cultural Valuation of Ecological Resources.
Turnley, J.1, Kaplowitz, M.2, Loucks, O.3, McGee, B.4, Dietz, T.5, 1 Galisteo Consulting Group, Inc., Albuquerque, NM, USA2 Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA3 ICValue, Inc., Oxford, OH, USA4 Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Annapolis, MD, USA5 Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
ABSTRACT- Proposals for valuing ecological resources beg the question of the definition of value and, consequently, of what it means to value a resource. This, in turn, raises questions of who is doing the valuing and on whose behalf, for what purpose the valuation is being made. How values are ascertained also influences decision-making processes. This presentation addresses the question of how to define value, drawing on traditions from social psychology and from environmental and natural resource economics. We also address the distinction between enduring values and preferences. The presentation introduces methods for identifying and documenting the locus of relevant values, i.e. whose values matter in a given valuation process. It also speaks to concerns about the way in which different values can be incorporated into decisions and impact the notion of valuation. The presentation not only outlines differences in valuation processes and outcomes in the public and private sectors but also discusses data elicitation methods that support various analytic techniques and decision-making processes.
Key words: valuation