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Quantifying the Non-Use Value of Biodiversity in Cost–Benefit Analysis: The Dutch Biodiversity Points

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Frits Bos Open the ORCID record for Frits Bos [Opens in a new window]  and
Arjan Ruijs
Frits Bos*
Affiliation:
CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, The Hague, Netherlands
Arjan Ruijs
Affiliation:
ACTIAM Sustainable Asset Management, Utrecht, Netherlands
*
*e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Biodiversity points are a quantitative measure for biodiversity. For over a decade, biodiversity points are being applied in the Netherlands for measuring the impact of roads, enclosure dams, and other water management projects on the non-use value of biodiversity. Biodiversity points are quite similar to the quality-adjusted life years used for cost-effectiveness analysis of healthcare treatments. Biodiversity points can be calculated by multiplying the size of the ecotope (e.g., number of hectare), the ecological quality of the ecotope (0–100 %), and the ecological scarcity of each type of ecotope. For many infrastructure projects, the impact on the non-use value of biodiversity can be a principal purpose or a major co-benefit or trade-off, for example, for a park, a fish sluice, a road, an ecoduct, an enclosure dam, or a marine protected area. Biodiversity points are a simple, transparent, and standardized way to aggregate and quantify the qualitative or ordinal assessments by ecological experts. For measuring the non-use value of biodiversity, they are also more informative than valuation by revealed or stated preferences methods. This paper provides the first overview of the application of this method in the Dutch practice of cost–benefit analysis. It also discusses its merits and limitations. The calculation and use of biodiversity points are illustrated by four case studies.

Keywords

biodiversitycost–benefit analysisecological points methodecosystem serviceshabitat equivalence analysisinfrastructurenatural capitalthreat-weighted ecological quality area methodwater managementH43H54Q51Q57
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , Summer 2021 , pp. 287 - 312
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis

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