This article has been accepted for publication following peer review. However, it does not includ... more This article has been accepted for publication following peer review. However, it does not include final corrections and editorial revisions and thus there may be differences between this version and the published version. This version is under copyright by the author(s) and/or their institutions and distributed under a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
European Journal of Wildlife Research, Mar 10, 2023
This paper reviews concepts and methods for the economic valuation of nature in the context of wi... more This paper reviews concepts and methods for the economic valuation of nature in the context of wildlife conservation and questions them in light of alternative approaches based on deliberation. Economic valuations have been used to set priorities, consider opportunity costs, assess co-benefits of conservation, support the case for conservation in public awareness and advocacy, and drive novel schemes to change incentives. We discuss the foundational principles of mainstream economic valuation in terms of its assumptions about values, markets, and human behaviour; propose a list of valuation studies in relation to wildlife protection; and explain the methods used. We then review critiques of these approaches focusing on the narrow way in which economics conceives of values, and institutional, power, and equity concerns. Finally, we complement conventional approaches commonly used for wildlife valuation with two forms of deliberative valuation: deliberated preferences and deliberative democratic monetary valuation. These are discussed in terms of their potential to address the drawbacks of mainstream economics and to realise the potential of valuation in bridging conservation of nature for its own sake and its important contributions to human well-being.
Participative strategy development serves to integrate the interests and perspectives of multiple... more Participative strategy development serves to integrate the interests and perspectives of multiple stakeholders involved in today's complex environmental challenges, aiming at a better-informed strategy for tackling these challenges, increased stakeholder ownership, and more democratic decision making. Prior research has observed inherent tensions between the need for participative strategy to be open to stakeholders' input and the need for closure and guidance. We extend this reasoning using a framing perspective. Our evidence from the development of the England Peat Action Plan suggests that tensions can emerge between the necessary ambiguous initial framing of intended change and the persistence of stakeholders' different framings of this change as well as perceptions of lacking knowledge, guidance, and control. We argue that strategy openness can thereby impede stakeholders' willingness and ability to change and counteract the strategy's aim for major transformation. Interactive spaces help mitigate the tensions and facilitate stakeholders' willingness and ability for change.
Participative strategy development serves to integrate the interests and perspectives of multiple... more Participative strategy development serves to integrate the interests and perspectives of multiple stakeholders involved in today's complex environmental challenges, aiming at a better‐informed strategy for tackling these challenges, increased stakeholder ownership, and more democratic decision making. Prior research has observed inherent tensions between the need for participative strategy to be open to stakeholders' input and the need for closure and guidance. We extend this reasoning using a framing perspective. Our evidence from the development of the England Peat Action Plan suggests that tensions can emerge between the necessary ambiguous initial framing of intended change and the persistence of stakeholders' different framings of this change as well as perceptions of lacking knowledge, guidance, and control. We argue that strategy openness can thereby impede stakeholders' willingness and ability to change and counteract the strategy's aim for major transfor...
Key findings: Finding 1: Shared values resulting from deliberative, group-based valuation are dif... more Key findings: Finding 1: Shared values resulting from deliberative, group-based valuation are different from individual values. Case study evidence suggests that they are more informed, considered, confident and reflective of participants’ deeper-held, transcendental values. Deliberated, group-based monetary values may be a better reflection of real welfare impacts than non-deliberated individual values, if derived through a carefully designed and managed process. Although more research is needed to expand the currently small evidence base on deliberative monetary methods, group deliberation has the potential to significantly enhance elicitation of values. Finding 2: The ethical, moral and justice dimensions of many environmental issues necessitate approaches that allow for the elicitation of shared and plural values. Key ethical concerns include: 1) providing a space and opportunity for people to identify values that they may find difficult to articulate (e.g. spiritual, identity);...
(2017) A place-based approach to payments for ecosystem services. Global Environmental Change, 43... more (2017) A place-based approach to payments for ecosystem services. Global Environmental Change, 43. pp. 92-106.
The Life Framework of Values links the richness of ways we experience and think of nature with th... more The Life Framework of Values links the richness of ways we experience and think of nature with the diverse ways nature matters. In this paper, we further develop and clarify the Life Framework in response to comments by Neuteleers et al. (Sustain Sci 14(1):4, 2020, 10.1007/s11625-020-00825-7). They supported its application to move beyond the instrumentalism and anthropocentrism associated with ecosystem services and nature’s contributions to people, but were critical of our addition of the living as nature frame to O’Neill et al.’s (Environmental values. Routledge, London, 2008) original three (living from, in and with the natural world), and of the way we defined intrinsic and relational values. We argue that the original presentation of the frames was as distinct sources of concern for nature. The living as frame, characterised by oneness between nature and people, presents a unique source of concern not adequately represented by the original three frames. Whilst the Life Framewo...
The role of maritime heritage in providing benefits such as sense of place and identity has been ... more The role of maritime heritage in providing benefits such as sense of place and identity has been well documented, but there is limited quantitative analysis (especially in monetary valuation) of its influence on people’s preferences. In this paper, we present results from a choice experiment where we valued cultural and heritage aspects of fishing through the preferences of seafood consumption. We found a strong preference for some attributes of seafood such as “locality” (origin of the catches), freshness, and sustainability in harvesting, but also a significant role of tangible maritime cultural heritage, such as visible fishing operations. This analysis can be helpful in informing public policies aiming to enhance experiences of fisheries as a living heritage and to valorise local produce to increase income of local communities.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The ecosystem services (ES) concept has emerged as a major theme in environmental research and go... more The ecosystem services (ES) concept has emerged as a major theme in environmental research and governance in recent decades (Chaudhary et al., 2015; Costanza et al., 2017). Proponents of the concept highlight its potential to alert policy makers, businesses, and citizens to our dependence on the natural world. Yet since its inception the concept has been plagued with criticisms of putting market prices on, and ultimately commodifying, nature. This thesis aims to explore debates and tensions within the ES concept through a series of conceptual discussions and empirical investigations. What is revealed is that ES is neither a silver bullet, nor a grave threat. It is a deeply ambiguous concept that takes multiple forms in the different contexts in which it is applied. Through a case study in Scottish inshore governance I show how the concept is shaped by existing institutions, norms, and policy priorities. Rather than dismissing the concept then, what is important is guiding its deploy...
This article has been accepted for publication following peer review. However, it does not includ... more This article has been accepted for publication following peer review. However, it does not include final corrections and editorial revisions and thus there may be differences between this version and the published version. This version is under copyright by the author(s) and/or their institutions and distributed under a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
European Journal of Wildlife Research, Mar 10, 2023
This paper reviews concepts and methods for the economic valuation of nature in the context of wi... more This paper reviews concepts and methods for the economic valuation of nature in the context of wildlife conservation and questions them in light of alternative approaches based on deliberation. Economic valuations have been used to set priorities, consider opportunity costs, assess co-benefits of conservation, support the case for conservation in public awareness and advocacy, and drive novel schemes to change incentives. We discuss the foundational principles of mainstream economic valuation in terms of its assumptions about values, markets, and human behaviour; propose a list of valuation studies in relation to wildlife protection; and explain the methods used. We then review critiques of these approaches focusing on the narrow way in which economics conceives of values, and institutional, power, and equity concerns. Finally, we complement conventional approaches commonly used for wildlife valuation with two forms of deliberative valuation: deliberated preferences and deliberative democratic monetary valuation. These are discussed in terms of their potential to address the drawbacks of mainstream economics and to realise the potential of valuation in bridging conservation of nature for its own sake and its important contributions to human well-being.
Participative strategy development serves to integrate the interests and perspectives of multiple... more Participative strategy development serves to integrate the interests and perspectives of multiple stakeholders involved in today's complex environmental challenges, aiming at a better-informed strategy for tackling these challenges, increased stakeholder ownership, and more democratic decision making. Prior research has observed inherent tensions between the need for participative strategy to be open to stakeholders' input and the need for closure and guidance. We extend this reasoning using a framing perspective. Our evidence from the development of the England Peat Action Plan suggests that tensions can emerge between the necessary ambiguous initial framing of intended change and the persistence of stakeholders' different framings of this change as well as perceptions of lacking knowledge, guidance, and control. We argue that strategy openness can thereby impede stakeholders' willingness and ability to change and counteract the strategy's aim for major transformation. Interactive spaces help mitigate the tensions and facilitate stakeholders' willingness and ability for change.
Participative strategy development serves to integrate the interests and perspectives of multiple... more Participative strategy development serves to integrate the interests and perspectives of multiple stakeholders involved in today's complex environmental challenges, aiming at a better‐informed strategy for tackling these challenges, increased stakeholder ownership, and more democratic decision making. Prior research has observed inherent tensions between the need for participative strategy to be open to stakeholders' input and the need for closure and guidance. We extend this reasoning using a framing perspective. Our evidence from the development of the England Peat Action Plan suggests that tensions can emerge between the necessary ambiguous initial framing of intended change and the persistence of stakeholders' different framings of this change as well as perceptions of lacking knowledge, guidance, and control. We argue that strategy openness can thereby impede stakeholders' willingness and ability to change and counteract the strategy's aim for major transfor...
Key findings: Finding 1: Shared values resulting from deliberative, group-based valuation are dif... more Key findings: Finding 1: Shared values resulting from deliberative, group-based valuation are different from individual values. Case study evidence suggests that they are more informed, considered, confident and reflective of participants’ deeper-held, transcendental values. Deliberated, group-based monetary values may be a better reflection of real welfare impacts than non-deliberated individual values, if derived through a carefully designed and managed process. Although more research is needed to expand the currently small evidence base on deliberative monetary methods, group deliberation has the potential to significantly enhance elicitation of values. Finding 2: The ethical, moral and justice dimensions of many environmental issues necessitate approaches that allow for the elicitation of shared and plural values. Key ethical concerns include: 1) providing a space and opportunity for people to identify values that they may find difficult to articulate (e.g. spiritual, identity);...
(2017) A place-based approach to payments for ecosystem services. Global Environmental Change, 43... more (2017) A place-based approach to payments for ecosystem services. Global Environmental Change, 43. pp. 92-106.
The Life Framework of Values links the richness of ways we experience and think of nature with th... more The Life Framework of Values links the richness of ways we experience and think of nature with the diverse ways nature matters. In this paper, we further develop and clarify the Life Framework in response to comments by Neuteleers et al. (Sustain Sci 14(1):4, 2020, 10.1007/s11625-020-00825-7). They supported its application to move beyond the instrumentalism and anthropocentrism associated with ecosystem services and nature’s contributions to people, but were critical of our addition of the living as nature frame to O’Neill et al.’s (Environmental values. Routledge, London, 2008) original three (living from, in and with the natural world), and of the way we defined intrinsic and relational values. We argue that the original presentation of the frames was as distinct sources of concern for nature. The living as frame, characterised by oneness between nature and people, presents a unique source of concern not adequately represented by the original three frames. Whilst the Life Framewo...
The role of maritime heritage in providing benefits such as sense of place and identity has been ... more The role of maritime heritage in providing benefits such as sense of place and identity has been well documented, but there is limited quantitative analysis (especially in monetary valuation) of its influence on people’s preferences. In this paper, we present results from a choice experiment where we valued cultural and heritage aspects of fishing through the preferences of seafood consumption. We found a strong preference for some attributes of seafood such as “locality” (origin of the catches), freshness, and sustainability in harvesting, but also a significant role of tangible maritime cultural heritage, such as visible fishing operations. This analysis can be helpful in informing public policies aiming to enhance experiences of fisheries as a living heritage and to valorise local produce to increase income of local communities.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The ecosystem services (ES) concept has emerged as a major theme in environmental research and go... more The ecosystem services (ES) concept has emerged as a major theme in environmental research and governance in recent decades (Chaudhary et al., 2015; Costanza et al., 2017). Proponents of the concept highlight its potential to alert policy makers, businesses, and citizens to our dependence on the natural world. Yet since its inception the concept has been plagued with criticisms of putting market prices on, and ultimately commodifying, nature. This thesis aims to explore debates and tensions within the ES concept through a series of conceptual discussions and empirical investigations. What is revealed is that ES is neither a silver bullet, nor a grave threat. It is a deeply ambiguous concept that takes multiple forms in the different contexts in which it is applied. Through a case study in Scottish inshore governance I show how the concept is shaped by existing institutions, norms, and policy priorities. Rather than dismissing the concept then, what is important is guiding its deploy...
There is an increasing interest in methods that can understand our values of ecosystem services i... more There is an increasing interest in methods that can understand our values of ecosystem services in broad and multidimensional way. This chapter discusses a range of deliberative, analytical-deliberative, psychological and interpretive approaches to value the environment. Deliberative methods allow people to ponder, debate and negotiate their values, which can inform, moralise and democratise the valuation process. Analytical-deliberative approaches combine deliberative methods with more formal decision-support tools. Interpretive methods help us understand the narratives of places and what they mean to us as individuals and to our communities and culture. Psychological methods can survey the multi-faceted nature of how ecosystem services contribute to human well-being, and can also investigate our deeper held, 'transcendental' values. The way we approach valuation impacts on the type of values that are highlighted. Embracing values as a pluralistic concept means that, to comprehensively value ecosystem services, we need to embrace a diversity of methods to assess them.
This paper concludes a special feature of Sustainability Science that explores a broad range of s... more This paper concludes a special feature of Sustainability Science that explores a broad range of social value theoretical traditions, such as religious studies, social psychology, indigenous knowledge, economics, sociology, and philosophy. We introduce a novel transdisciplinary conceptual framework that revolves around concepts of 'lenses' and 'tensions' to help navigate value diversity. First, we consider the notion of lenses: perspectives on value and valuation along diverse dimensions that describe what values focus on, how their sociality is envisioned, and what epistemic and procedural assumptions are made. We characterise fourteen of such dimensions. This provides a foundation for exploration of seven areas of tension, between: (1) the values of individuals vs collectives; (2) values as discrete and held vs embedded and constructed; (3) value as static or changeable; (4) valuation as descriptive vs normative and transformative; (5) social vs relational values; (6) different rationalities and their relation to value integration; (7) degrees of acknowledgment of the role of power in navigating value conflicts. In doing so, we embrace the 'mess' of diversity, yet also provide a framework to organise this mess and support and encourage active transdisciplinary collaboration. We identify key research areas where such collaborations can be harnessed for sustainability transformation. Here it is crucial to understand how certain social value lenses are privileged over others and build capacity in decision-making for understanding and drawing on multiple value, epistemic and procedural lenses.
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