IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecoser/v28y2017ipap115-123.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The value of ecosystem services in the high altitude Spiti Valley, Indian Trans-Himalaya

Author

Listed:
  • Murali, Ranjini
  • Redpath, Stephen
  • Mishra, Charudutt

Abstract

The high mountain ranges of South and Central Asia are increasingly being exposed to large-scale development projects. These areas are home to traditional pastoralist communities and internationally important biodiversity including the endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia. Development projects rely on economic cost-benefit analysis, but the ecosystem services in the high Himalayas are poorly understood and are rarely accounted for. As a first step to fill this gap, we identified the main ecosystem services used by local people in the Trans-Himalayan Spiti Valley (7591 km2), a region important for conservation of snow leopards and high mountain biodiversity, and undertook an economic valuation. Stakeholders identified a range of services, though these were dominated by provisioning services identified by 90% of respondents. Only 5.4% of the respondents recognised regulatory services and 4.8% recognised cultural services. The mean economic value of provisioning services was estimated at US$ 3622 ± 149 HH−1 yr−1, which was 3.8 times higher than the average annual household income. Our results underscore the need to account for ecosystem services in the cost-benefit analyses of large-scale development projects in addition to assessments of their environmental and social impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Murali, Ranjini & Redpath, Stephen & Mishra, Charudutt, 2017. "The value of ecosystem services in the high altitude Spiti Valley, Indian Trans-Himalaya," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 28(PA), pages 115-123.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:28:y:2017:i:pa:p:115-123
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.10.018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041616304880
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.10.018?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ghoncheh Tazmini, 2001. "The Islamic revival in Central Asia: A potent force or a misconception?," Central Asian Survey, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 63-83.
    2. Christie, Mike & Fazey, Ioan & Cooper, Rob & Hyde, Tony & Kenter, Jasper O., 2012. "An evaluation of monetary and non-monetary techniques for assessing the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services to people in countries with developing economies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 67-78.
    3. Farley, Joshua, 2012. "Ecosystem services: The economics debate," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 40-49.
    4. Farber, Stephen C. & Costanza, Robert & Wilson, Matthew A., 2002. "Economic and ecological concepts for valuing ecosystem services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 375-392, June.
    5. Quintas-Soriano, Cristina & Martín-López, Berta & Santos-Martín, Fernando & Loureiro, María & Montes, Carlos & Benayas, Javier & García-Llorente, Marina, 2016. "Ecosystem services values in Spain: A meta-analysis," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(P1), pages 186-195.
    6. Adekola, Olalekan & Mitchell, Gordon & Grainger, Alan, 2015. "Inequality and ecosystem services: The value and social distribution of Niger Delta wetland services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 42-54.
    7. Godoy, R. & Overman, H. & Demmer, J. & Apaza, L. & Byron, E. & Huanca, T. & Leonard, W. & Perez, E. & Reyes-Garcia, V. & Vadez, V., 2002. "Local financial benefits of rain forests: comparative evidence from Amerindian societies in Bolivia and Honduras," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 397-409, March.
    8. Bartelmus, Peter, 2009. "The cost of natural capital consumption: Accounting for a sustainable world economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1850-1857, April.
    9. Sunderlin, William D. & Angelsen, Arild & Belcher, Brian & Burgers, Paul & Nasi, Robert & Santoso, Levania & Wunder, Sven, 2005. "Livelihoods, forests, and conservation in developing countries: An Overview," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1383-1402, September.
    10. Sharif Ahmed Mukul & A. Z. M. Manzoor Rashid & Mohammad Belal Uddin & Niaz Ahmed Khan, 2016. "Role of non-timber forest products in sustaining forest-based livelihoods and rural households' resilience capacity in and around protected area: a Bangladesh study†," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(4), pages 628-642, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wajid Rashid & Jianbin Shi & Inam ur Rahim & Muhammad Qasim & Muhammad Naveed Baloch & Eve Bohnett & Fangyuan Yang & Imran Khan & Bilal Ahmad, 2021. "Modelling Potential Distribution of Snow Leopards in Pamir, Northern Pakistan: Implications for Human–Snow Leopard Conflicts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-14, November.
    2. Murali, Ranjini & Suryawanshi, Kulbushansingh & Redpath, Stephen & Nagendra, Harini & Mishra, Charudutt, 2019. "Changing use of ecosystem services along a rural-urban continuum in the Indian Trans-Himalayas," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    3. Acharya, Ram Prasad & Maraseni, Tek & Cockfield, Geoff, 2020. "Assessing the financial contribution and carbon emission pattern of provisioning ecosystem services in Siwalik forests in Nepal: Valuation from the perspectives of disaggregated users," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Shrestha, Kripa & Shakya, Bandana & Adhikari, Biraj & Nepal, Mani & Shaoliang, Yi, 2023. "Ecosystem services valuation for conservation and development decisions: A review of valuation studies and tools in the Far Eastern Himalaya," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    5. Saeed, Uzma & Arshad, Muhammad & Hayat, Shakeel & Morelli, Toni Lyn & Ali Nawaz, Muhammad, 2022. "Analysis of provisioning ecosystem services and perceptions of climate change for indigenous communities in the Western Himalayan Gurez Valley, Pakistan," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    6. Hameeda Sultan & Wajid Rashid & Jianbin Shi & Inam ur Rahim & Mohammad Nafees & Eve Bohnett & Sajid Rashid & Muhammad Tariq Khan & Izaz Ali Shah & Heesup Han & Antonio Ariza-Montes, 2022. "Horizon Scan of Transboundary Concerns Impacting Snow Leopard Landscapes in Asia," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nikodinoska, Natasha & Paletto, Alessandro & Pastorella, Fabio & Granvik, Madeleine & Franzese, Pier Paolo, 2018. "Assessing, valuing and mapping ecosystem services at city level: The case of Uppsala (Sweden)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 368(C), pages 411-424.
    2. Folkersen, Maja Vinde, 2018. "Ecosystem valuation: Changing discourse in a time of climate change," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 29(PA), pages 1-12.
    3. Schild, Johanna E.M. & Vermaat, Jan E. & de Groot, Rudolf S. & Quatrini, Simone & van Bodegom, Peter M., 2018. "A global meta-analysis on the monetary valuation of dryland ecosystem services: The role of socio-economic, environmental and methodological indicators," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(PA), pages 78-89.
    4. Angelos Alamanos & Phoebe Koundouri, 2022. "Economics of Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Water Resource Planning and Management," DEOS Working Papers 2211, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    5. Schmidt, Katja & Walz, Ariane & Martín-López, Berta & Sachse, René, 2017. "Testing socio-cultural valuation methods of ecosystem services to explain land use preferences," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 26(PA), pages 270-288.
    6. Wunder, Sven & Angelsen, Arild & Belcher, Brian, 2014. "Forests, Livelihoods, and Conservation: Broadening the Empirical Base," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(S1), pages 1-11.
    7. Begazo Curie, Karin & Mertens, Kewan & Vranken, Liesbet, 2021. "Tenure regimes and remoteness: When does forest income reduce poverty and inequality? A case study from the Peruvian Amazon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    8. Balaine, Lorraine & Gallai, Nicola & Del Corso, Jean-Pierre & Kephaliacos, Charilaos, 2020. "Trading off environmental goods for compensations: Insights from traditional and deliberative valuation methods in the Ecuadorian Amazon," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    9. Häyhä, Tiina & Franzese, Pier Paolo & Paletto, Alessandro & Fath, Brian D., 2015. "Assessing, valuing, and mapping ecosystem services in Alpine forests," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 12-23.
    10. Kolinjivadi, Vijay, 2019. "Avoiding dualisms in ecological economics: Towards a dialectically-informed understanding of co-produced socionatures," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 32-41.
    11. Adam P. Hejnowicz & Murray A. Rudd, 2017. "The Value Landscape in Ecosystem Services: Value, Value Wherefore Art Thou Value?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-34, May.
    12. Vieira, Felipe A.S. & Bragagnolo, Chiara & Correia, Ricardo A. & Malhado, Ana C.M. & Ladle, Richard J., 2018. "A salience index for integrating multiple user perspectives in cultural ecosystem service assessments," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(PB), pages 182-192.
    13. Scholte, Samantha S.K. & van Teeffelen, Astrid J.A. & Verburg, Peter H., 2015. "Integrating socio-cultural perspectives into ecosystem service valuation: A review of concepts and methods," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 67-78.
    14. Costanza, Robert & de Groot, Rudolf & Braat, Leon & Kubiszewski, Ida & Fioramonti, Lorenzo & Sutton, Paul & Farber, Steve & Grasso, Monica, 2017. "Twenty years of ecosystem services: How far have we come and how far do we still need to go?," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 28(PA), pages 1-16.
    15. Taye, Fitalew Agimass & Folkersen, Maja Vinde & Fleming, Christopher M. & Buckwell, Andrew & Mackey, Brendan & Diwakar, K.C. & Le, Dung & Hasan, Syezlin & Ange, Chantal Saint, 2021. "The economic values of global forest ecosystem services: A meta-analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    16. Sofia Maniatakou & Håkan Berg & Giorgos Maneas & Tim M. Daw, 2020. "Unravelling Diverse Values of Ecosystem Services: A Socio-Cultural Valuation Using Q Methodology in Messenia, Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-25, December.
    17. Acharya, Ram Prasad & Maraseni, Tek & Cockfield, Geoff, 2020. "Assessing the financial contribution and carbon emission pattern of provisioning ecosystem services in Siwalik forests in Nepal: Valuation from the perspectives of disaggregated users," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    18. Phoebe Koundouri & Angelos Alamanos & Kostas Dellis & Artemis Stratopoulou, 2022. "Ecosystem Services into Water Resource Planning and Management," DEOS Working Papers 2230, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    19. Jarmila Makovníková & Stanislav Kološta & Filip Flaška & Boris Pálka, 2023. "Potential of Regulating Ecosystem Services in Relation to Natural Capital in Model Regions of Slovakia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-22, January.
    20. Mueller, Hannah & Hamilton, David P. & Doole, Graeme J., 2016. "Evaluating services and damage costs of degradation of a major lake ecosystem," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(PB), pages 370-380.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:28:y:2017:i:pa:p:115-123. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecosystem-services .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.