Classifying Ecosystem Services for Economic Valuation: The case of forest water services

Since the release of the Millennium Ecosystem Approach (MEA), the number of studies valuing ecosystem services has grown. As a consequence of this growing literature, different interpretations exist on the classification of services as derived from MEA, and several studies have argued that this may not be the most appropriate framework when the aim of the analysis is economic valuation. The present paper contributes to this debate by reviewing and comparing these critical views in order firstly to clarify the existing confusion in the terminology and interpretations; and secondly to shed some light on a desirable classification and conceptualization of ecosystem services for valuation. To illustrate this, we present an examination of existing primary valuation studies of water related services provided by tropical forests, which we analyze under the MEA classification framework and compare it with an output-based classification, in which the service is defined in terms of its benefits (outputs) to humans. Our results support the idea that an output-based classification should provide more accurate values and could help avoid certain problems such as double accounting and potential underestimation of services values.ecosystem services, Millennium Ecosystems Approach, water services, tropical forests

Mapping of Forest Biodiversity Values: A Plural Perspective

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is built on a conceptual framework that links biodiversity to the services ecosystems provide to society. Based on this framework, we first compile market and non-market forest valuation studies and, secondly, explore the potential of an econometric modeling exercise by conducting a world wide meta-analysis. This exercise aims to highlight the mapping of biodiversity indicators and assesses their respective role on the valuation exercise. Our results show that biodiversity loss is having an effect on forest ecosystem values. In addition, these effects reveal to be dependent on the type of services and global geo-climatic regions.Millennium Ecosystems Approach, Biodiversity Loss, Meta-Analysis, Market Valuation, Non-Market Valuation, Forests

Zenobia Camprubí: the subjectivity on the poetic discourse of an author out of the literary canon

Nuestro artículo tiene como objetivo analizar el discurso poético de Zenobia Camprubí, intelectual española, conocida por ser esposa y musa del poeta Juan Ramón Jiménez. Nuestra propuesta indaga tanto en su imagen de esposa abnegada, encadenada a la larga sombra de Juan Ramón, como en la delicadeza y la expresividad casi espontánea de sus versos, de los que emerge un tono melancólico que no solo hace entrever la poesía como alivio sino que ese mismo matiz ayuda a representar la propia historia alejada de la mística femenina tradicional. Su discurso poético es una habitación propia que teje una relación de interdependencia entre el mundo y la palabra. La autora expresa poéticamente su subjetividad, con elegancia, sin afectación, haciendo gala de un lenguaje sencillo que refleja su identidad literaria y su metafísica particular.Our paper aims to analyze the poetic discourse of Zenobia Camprubí, a Spanish intellectual known for being the wife and muse of the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez. Our proposal investigates so much in the image of selfless wife, chained to the long shadow of Juan Ramón as in the emotional delicacy of her verses, from which emerge not only a melancholy tone that makes poetry may seem a relief but this tone in itself makes up a representation of her own story beyond the traditional feminine mystique. Her poetic discourse is a room of her own that weaves a relationship of interdependence between the language and the world. The author poetically expresses her subjectivity with elegance, without affectation, using a simple language that reflects her literary identity and her particular metaphysics

The Costs of Ecosystem Adaptation: Methodology and Estimates for Indian Forests

This paper presents a detailed methodology for estimating the cost of adaptation to climate change impacts on ecosystems. Up to date estimates are built-up following national investments in measures such as protected areas, with inaccurate estimates of the adaptation level needed. Here we propose a new methodology which identifies vulnerable areas due to climate impacts and the specific adaptation options feasible for these regions. An illustration of the methodology for shifts in forest ecosystems in India is presented. Advantages and future requirements for this methodology are finally discussed.Climate change, adaptation costs, forest ecosystems, India

Payments for Water Ecosystem Services in Latin America: Evidence from Reported Experience

27 p.Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are attracting increasing interest as policy mechanisms to improve conservation and sustainable development outcomes. PES initiatives aim to reach mutually beneficial agreements between providers and users of ecosystem services. In Latin America, with Costa Rica as the frontrunner, there are now more than two decades of experience in the implementation of PES schemes, which potentially represent a valuable source of knowledge for the improvement of the efficacy of conservation programs. Reviews and special issues dedicated to the study of PES exist, but they remain to most of their extent descriptive and qualitative. This paper presents the first study that systematically analyses the PES experience on the basis of a descriptive analysis of existing programs. The objective is twofold: (i) understanding the key features of existing PES mechanisms based on reported evidence; and (ii) identifying information needs for evidence-based policy design and implementation. We focus on water-related services since this type of service is involved in the majority of schemes. A database was constructed with 287 observations from 39 studies, from 1984 to 2011 in 10 Latin American countries. We find evidence confirming some known facts, such as deforestation and forest management as the main drivers of PES establishment, and revealing new ones, such as that average income for sellers is 60% larger than average buyers’ payment for the service

Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Services: Conflicts in Classification

4 p.Since the release of the Millennium Ecosystem Approach (MA), studies valuing ecosystem services have grown in the literature. As a consequence, different interpretations exist on the classification of services, and several studies have argued that the classification of services MEA proposes may not be the most appropriate when the aim of the analysis is economic valuation. To illustrate this, we conducted an examination of existing primary valuation studies of water related services provided by tropical forests, that we analyzed under the MA classification and compared with an output-based classification. Our results support the idea that an output-based classification should provide with more accurate values and could contribute to avoid certain problems such as double counting and potential underestimation of services values

Classifying Ecosystem Services for Economic Valuation: The case of forest water services

30 p.Since the release of the Millennium Ecosystem Approach (MEA), the number of studies valuing ecosystem services has grown. As a consequence of this growing literature, different interpretations exist on the classification of services as derived from MEA, and several studies have argued that this may not be the most appropriate framework when the aim of the analysis is economic valuation. The present paper contributes to this debate by reviewing and comparing these critical views in order firstly to clarify the existing confusion in the terminology and interpretations; and secondly to shed some light on a desirable classification and conceptualization of ecosystem services for valuation. To illustrate this, we present an examination of existing primary valuation studies of water related services provided by tropical forests, which we analyze under the MEA classification framework and compare it with an output-based classification, in which the service is defined in terms of its benefits (outputs) to humans. Our results support the idea that an output-based classification should provide more accurate values and could help avoid certain problems such as double accounting and potential underestimation of services values

The Costs of Ecosystem Adaptation: Methodology and Estimates for Indian Forests

34 p.This paper presents a detailed methodology for estimating the cost of adaptation to climate change impacts on ecosystems. Up to date estimates are built-up following national investments in measures such as protected areas, with inaccurate estimates of the adaptation level needed. Here we propose a new methodology which identifies vulnerable areas due to climate impacts and the specific adaptation options feasible for these regions. An illustration of the methodology for shifts in forest ecosystems in India is presented. Advantages and future requirements for this methodology are finally discussed

La experiencia estética en Sobre los ángeles de Rafael Alberti

Our aesthetic experience in Sobre los ángeles by Rafael Alberti observes the hard beat and various tensions contained in this collection of poems. They are those same tensions that sustain its poetic meaning, which is based on the organization of language and on the writing itself. The text is about a journey from heaven to hell, where a dark rhythm unveils the poet´s struggle to defeat the forces that threatened to destroy him. In our opinion, the analogy between the meaning of the poems and the rhythmic perceptions is noteworthy, what becomes a hollow rhythm that reflects the personal crisis of the poet. Although the tension has not been entirely resolved at the end, our reading underlines the success of an author who has achieved a unique tone that winds through the inner of each poem and involves the genesis of the whole

Metamorfosis lingüística y escritura autobiográfica en In altre parole de Jhumpa Lahiri

La escritora americana Jhumpa Lahiri plantea en su último libro la problemática de la identidad lingüística y social. La decisión de utilizar el italiano y no el inglés, se percibe como una transformación que la autora explica recurriendo a una técnica propia de la escritura femenina: el relato autobiográfico. La lengua aparece entonces como un factor clave en la formación de identidades personales y colectivas. Nuestra propuesta examina el uso que Lahiri hace del italiano como motor del cambio. Por otra parte, la autora alcanza tal empatía con el lector que la historia se convierte en un claro ejemplo de escritura femenina.In her latest work, the American writer Jhumpa Lahiri, suggests the problem of dual social and linguistic identity. The decision to use Italian language instead of English is perceived as a personal transformation that the author justifies by making use of the essential technical of female literature: the autobiography. The language appears as a key factor in both formations of public and private identities. Our proposal analyzes the use that Lahiri makes about Italian language as a starting point of her metamorphosis. Moreover, the author reaches such an empathy with the reader, that the story is turned into an evident example of women´s writing