Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES): A GIS Application for Assessing, Mapping, and Quantifying the Social Values of Ecosystem Services--Documentation and User Manual, Version 1.0

摘要

Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) is a geographic information system (GIS) application for incorporating quantified and spatially explicit social values information into ecosystem services assessments. It was developed by the U.S. Geological Surveys (USGS) Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center (RMGSC) in collaboration with Dr. Jessica Clement, at Colorado State University (CSU). SolVES addresses the need to account for differing values, attitudes, and preferences among diverse stakeholders in the analysis of tradeoffs among ecosystem services. Ecosystem services provide both tangible and intangible benefits to human life. Whereas sometimes these benefits can be quantified in monetary terms, often they exist as public goods that bypass the economy. Further, monetary values, even if available, are not always desirable as they can distract decision makers and stakeholders from the primary purpose of ecosystem management.