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Valuing the Multiple Functions of Forests

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World Forests, Markets and Policies

Part of the book series: World Forests ((WFSE,volume 3))

Abstract

The assessment of the “total economic value” of forests is complicated bythe fact that forests play an important role in many aspects of human wellbeing. Forestproducts such as paper and pulp continue to be important goods on the world markets.Forests also provide ecoservices, such as biodiversity conservation, climate regulationservices, soil stabilization and erosion control. The significance of the value ofsuch services is becoming increasingly appreciated, although our knowledge of the “totalvalue” of forest resources for human well being is still limited. This paper provides aselective summary of recent attempts by resource economists to shed some light onthe total value of forests. The paper begins by asking. What is it that we wish to value? Aclear answer to this question may be had from the economic point of view, althoughno consensus exists in the relevant empirical literature. The second part of the paperbriefly discusses the currently available measurement methods, especially with regardto the measurement of the non-market outputs of forests. The third part of the paperaddresses the practical question: How have we valued our forests? It presents someexamples of how valuation studies at different levels of aggregation can yield importantinsights into the advanced and balanced stewardship of forest resources. The final sectionpresents concluding remarks on the usefulness of valuation in this context.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Forest Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), S-90183, Umeå, Sweden

    Bengt Kriström (Professor)

  2. Dept. of Forest Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-901 83, Umeå, Sweden

    Dr Mattias Boman

  3. (IBAMA), Caixa Postal 07-0037, Brasilia DR, 70359-970, Brazil

    Dr Sebastião Kengen

Authors
  1. Bengt Kriström
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  2. Dr Mattias Boman
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  3. Dr Sebastião Kengen
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Matti Palo Jussi Uusivuori Gerardo Mery

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Kriström, B., Boman, M., Kengen, S. (2001). Valuing the Multiple Functions of Forests. In: Palo, M., Uusivuori, J., Mery, G. (eds) World Forests, Markets and Policies. World Forests, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0664-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0664-4_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-7171-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0664-4

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