The Economics of Non-Market Goods and Resources9- Environmental Value Transfer: Issues and Methods

What appears to be the first environmental value transfer exercise estimated damages, and illustrates the point that what is generally termed benefit transfer, should rather be termed value transfer in order to capture both reductions and increments in environmental quality and natural resources. The transfer of environmental values in time and space has increased rapidly with the widespread use of cost benefit analysis in project evaluation and regulatory assessments over the last three decades. The purpose of this volume is to take a snapshot of the research that is ongoing in the area of value transfer (benefit transfer). It includes papers by some of the most influential authors in the area, and covers the latest developments in the field. It will be useful for academics conducting research in this area and for practitioners in government agencies and ministries, as well as consulting firms. The transfer of environmental values in time and space has increased rapidly with the widespread use of cost benefit analysis in project evaluation and regulatory assessments over the last three decades. Over the last 15 years, other policy uses like environmental costing, greening of systems of national accounts and natural resource damage assessments after oil spills and other pollution accidents have also contributed to the increased demand for environmental values. However, most early transfers were conducted in an uncritical manner, often lacking sound theoretical, statistical and empirical basis, and did not question the validity and reliability of the transferred values. What appears to be the first environmental value transfer exercise estimated damages, and illustrates the point that what is generally termed benefit transfer, should rather be termed value transfer in…