Monetising ecosystem services
European agriculture provides a range of ecosystem services, including biodiversity conservation, particularly in High Nature Value (HNV) farmlands within less favoured areas. With agriculture and grazing on these lands decreasing due to a recent recession, these farmlands have suffered vegetation encroachment and biodiversity loss. The EU-funded AGRI-ECO SERVICES project aimed to design a framework for evaluating the environmental impacts and sustainability of agricultural practice in HNV areas. It did so by measuring the value of ecosystem services to the community, in order to support decision making in agricultural policy. Project members conducted two case studies in areas containing both natural parks and farmlands, in the Mediterranean and Nordic regions of Europe. They found that both communities perceived the agricultural lands to be highly valuable ecosystem services providers. In fact, the communities rated the value of the lands two to three times higher than the estimated economic value. Both rural and urban populations valued quality local food production, biodiversity preservation, aesthetic and recreational value, and fire risk prevention. Researchers concluded that the socio-cultural and economic ecosystem services these lands provide were underestimated, and that subsequent welfare loss was linked to environmental loss. This project may help to highlight the importance of valuing ecosystem services in monetary terms, as a path to compensating farmers for their contribution. Such a process could include targeting particular agricultural practices that might be eligible for 'green' subsidies (payments for ecosystem services).
Keywords
Ecosystem services, farmland, agriculture, biodiversity, High Nature Value
