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Economic Valuation of Forest Ecosystems Service’s Role in Maintaining and Improving Water Quality

Published in Economics (Volume 4, Issue 5)
Received: 9 July 2015    Accepted: 15 August 2015    Published: 26 August 2015
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Abstract

The objective of this paper was to review the economic value of forest ecosystem services especially in maintaining and improving water quality and also to highlight the commonly applied techniques that are applied in the valuation of these economic values. The importance of natural forest ecosystems to human well-being cannot be overstated. What this review makes clear that forest ecosystem service provides important portion of the total contribution to economic development and social welfare in the maintaining and improving water quality. Water in adequate quantity and quality to meet human needs is essential, and forests have direct and indirect roles in providing such water. However, in order for conservation of forest areas to be economically feasible, such forest areas need to secure a financial return in excess of alternative uses. It is increasingly recognized that both the availability and the quality of water are strongly influenced by forests and that water resources in many regions are under growing threat from overuse, misuse and pollution. The relationship between forests and water is therefore a critical issue that must be accorded high priority. A key challenge for land, forest and water managers is maximizing the wide range of forest benefits without detriment to water resources and ecosystem function. To address this challenge, there is urgent need for better understanding of the interactions between forests/trees and water (particularly in watersheds), for awareness raising and capacity building in forest hydrology, and for embedding this knowledge and research findings in policies. There is also need to develop institutional mechanisms to enhance synergies in forests and water issues, and to implement and enforce national and regional action programmes.

Published in Economics (Volume 4, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.eco.20150405.11
Page(s) 71-80
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Ecosystem Services of Forests, Economic Valuation, Runoff, Water Quality

References
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  • APA Style

    Bamlaku Ayenew, Yemiryu Tesfay. (2015). Economic Valuation of Forest Ecosystems Service’s Role in Maintaining and Improving Water Quality. Economics, 4(5), 71-80. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20150405.11

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    ACS Style

    Bamlaku Ayenew; Yemiryu Tesfay. Economic Valuation of Forest Ecosystems Service’s Role in Maintaining and Improving Water Quality. Economics. 2015, 4(5), 71-80. doi: 10.11648/j.eco.20150405.11

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    AMA Style

    Bamlaku Ayenew, Yemiryu Tesfay. Economic Valuation of Forest Ecosystems Service’s Role in Maintaining and Improving Water Quality. Economics. 2015;4(5):71-80. doi: 10.11648/j.eco.20150405.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.eco.20150405.11,
      author = {Bamlaku Ayenew and Yemiryu Tesfay},
      title = {Economic Valuation of Forest Ecosystems Service’s Role in Maintaining and Improving Water Quality},
      journal = {Economics},
      volume = {4},
      number = {5},
      pages = {71-80},
      doi = {10.11648/j.eco.20150405.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eco.20150405.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.eco.20150405.11},
      abstract = {The objective of this paper was to review the economic value of forest ecosystem services especially in maintaining and improving water quality and also to highlight the commonly applied techniques that are applied in the valuation of these economic values. The importance of natural forest ecosystems to human well-being cannot be overstated. What this review makes clear that forest ecosystem service provides important portion of the total contribution to economic development and social welfare in the maintaining and improving water quality. Water in adequate quantity and quality to meet human needs is essential, and forests have direct and indirect roles in providing such water. However, in order for conservation of forest areas to be economically feasible, such forest areas need to secure a financial return in excess of alternative uses. It is increasingly recognized that both the availability and the quality of water are strongly influenced by forests and that water resources in many regions are under growing threat from overuse, misuse and pollution. The relationship between forests and water is therefore a critical issue that must be accorded high priority. A key challenge for land, forest and water managers is maximizing the wide range of forest benefits without detriment to water resources and ecosystem function. To address this challenge, there is urgent need for better understanding of the interactions between forests/trees and water (particularly in watersheds), for awareness raising and capacity building in forest hydrology, and for embedding this knowledge and research findings in policies. There is also need to develop institutional mechanisms to enhance synergies in forests and water issues, and to implement and enforce national and regional action programmes.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    AU  - Bamlaku Ayenew
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    AB  - The objective of this paper was to review the economic value of forest ecosystem services especially in maintaining and improving water quality and also to highlight the commonly applied techniques that are applied in the valuation of these economic values. The importance of natural forest ecosystems to human well-being cannot be overstated. What this review makes clear that forest ecosystem service provides important portion of the total contribution to economic development and social welfare in the maintaining and improving water quality. Water in adequate quantity and quality to meet human needs is essential, and forests have direct and indirect roles in providing such water. However, in order for conservation of forest areas to be economically feasible, such forest areas need to secure a financial return in excess of alternative uses. It is increasingly recognized that both the availability and the quality of water are strongly influenced by forests and that water resources in many regions are under growing threat from overuse, misuse and pollution. The relationship between forests and water is therefore a critical issue that must be accorded high priority. A key challenge for land, forest and water managers is maximizing the wide range of forest benefits without detriment to water resources and ecosystem function. To address this challenge, there is urgent need for better understanding of the interactions between forests/trees and water (particularly in watersheds), for awareness raising and capacity building in forest hydrology, and for embedding this knowledge and research findings in policies. There is also need to develop institutional mechanisms to enhance synergies in forests and water issues, and to implement and enforce national and regional action programmes.
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Author Information
  • Hawassa University Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, School of Natural Resource and Environmental studies, Hawassa, Ethiopia

  • Hawassa University Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, School of Forestry, Hawassa, Ethiopia

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