Background and Purpose: Natural resource systems that are commercially exploitable, such as forests, are valued by using many different factors. Policy makers and other decision makers must choose between scenarios in which there can be clear market values with easy to document influences on economy or scenarios in which the value is placed on difficult to document factors, such as the importance of natural systems, forest services without market values, and the benefits to human wellbeing. Several methods are
described in this paper for documenting the non-market values that forest goods and services provide. We discuss different methods and assessment tools that provide different types of information, quantitative and qualitative, with respective strengths and weaknesses from varied scientific and decision-support perspective. In an attempt to provide scientists with different views and ideas, as well as planners and managers with a general appreciation of methods and their application, we have included selected examples
that influence policy and/or management practices.
Material and Methods: Most of the material has been developed based on a number of basic text books describing evaluation methods from the perspective of development and grounded in economical theory with a wide range of application. The second part has been developed from a list of references dealing with application in European countries and enriched with details and examples
from documents based on seventeen country reports. The structure of
those country reports was predefined, discussed, harmonized and completed by a group of scientists and professionals involved in COST action E-33, »Forest for recreation and tourism.« Evaluation methods related to forest goods and services were described from theoretical and practical viewpoints with emphasis on their applicability to a specific type of research.
Results and Conclusion: Nonmarket values of forest goods and services can be estimated in a number of different ways. The methods can be divided into two basic categories: first, based on market prices, and second, based on non-market evaluation. Our focus is on the second strategy where the market prices
are not known. Further division of this method goes in two broad categories according to the nature of the data generated for modelling and estimation: (a) »stated preference methods« where individuals’ preferences are not observed but rather stated, and (b) »revealed preference methods« where we can observe people
acting in real-world settings where people live with the consequences of their choices.The most widely used method for valuing natural resources is the contingent valuation (CV) method. Choice experiments (CE) and hedonic pricing (HP) methods have been included in far fewer empirical studies, but the application
of these methods has passed the demonstration stage. We also discuss the newly developed methods of benefit transfer and meta-analysis which use values, functions, and other descriptions from other studies to evaluate natural resources
