House of Lords: Ecosystem Services

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked a written question on the assessment that has been made of the benefits of moving from quantification of the value of individual ecosystem services to quantification of the aggregated value of a range of services provided by different ecosystems; and what research has been commissioned to facilitate this calculation.

Lord Rooker (Minister of State (Sustainable Farming and Food), responded by saying that Government have commissioned several projects exploring the valuing of ecosystem services and which valuation techniques are most appropriate under different circumstances. Defra, the lead department, has identified a range of situations where aggregation of ecosystem services valuation will be important, including: when considering the multifunctional benefits at a given site or when calculating the likely changes in site values under different options in a decision; and development of national accounting processes that look at the aggregate value of natural capital in adjusted measures of economic prosperity.