Abstract
Macro-economic decisions determine the resources allocated at an international and a country-level to natural resource management. Micro-economic theory and tools are then used to ensure that this allocation will materialize into desired economic, environmental and societal outcomes. Restoration projects differ in their costs and benefits. The costs may entail operational costs, and those associated with alternative foregone opportunities. The benefits of restoration may reflect biodiversity outcomes or the provision of ecosystem goods and services, such as the supply of water and carbon sequestration. Restoration also has the potential to ensure supply of timber and non-timber forest products such as food and medicines, with potential significance for subsistence livelihoods. We synthesise approaches to valuing the costs and benefits of restoration projects in order to explore the economic consequences of restoration decisions and to prioritise investments. We finish the chapter by outlining economic incentives and policies that might support the implementation of restoration activities.
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Wilson, K.A., Lulow, M., Burger, J., McBride, M.F. (2012). The Economics of Restoration. In: Stanturf, J., Lamb, D., Madsen, P. (eds) Forest Landscape Restoration. World Forests, vol 15. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5326-6_11
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