An Empirical Analysis of an Integrated Accounting Method to Assess the Non-Monetary and Monetary Value of Ecosystem Services

Yubang Liu, Yunan Yan and Xin Li
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Yubang Liu: College of Management Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China
Yunan Yan: College of Management Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China
Xin Li: College of Management Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 20, 1-14

Abstract: The process of ecosystem service value evaluation has developed from the use of a single economic value that only accounts for material products to an assessment of ecological value and the value of ecosystem services. However, due to the complexity of ecosystems and different understandings of ecosystem service values, different classification methods of ecosystem services and service values have been developed internationally, and this has resulted in a lack of clarity regarding the correlation between ecosystem service value and various ecosystems. The correspondence between the system and each value type is not clear; therefore, based on an analysis of the inadequacy of domestic and foreign ecosystem service classification systems and methods, this study constructed a new accounting framework for non-monetary ecosystem service functions based on emergy analysis and integrated monetary accounting methods. The practical application of the method was also researched. The research results re-classified the value of ecosystem services, established an accounting method for various ecosystem service values, clarified the principle of addition in accounting, and avoided double counting. In the empirical analysis, a large number of correlation coefficients, parameters, and index values found in the foreign literature were used, so, our method also has value for international use.

Keywords: ecosystem service value; non-monetary amount accounting; monetary amount accounting; emergy analysis method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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