Abstract
This chapter is focused on the fundamental problems related to determining social choices in the realm of the environment — specifically choices with relevance to the preservation of forest biodiversity. The chapter is divided in three sections. First I will characterize the main features of biodiversity, emphasizing also the ethical implications of the common goods properties involved. This part concludes that the fundamental issue is choosing value-articulating institutions that are consistent with the underlying problem characteristics. The second part of the paper is thus devoted at clarifying the role of the institutional context in the valuation process. The final and main part concerns an evaluation of different value articulating institutions to be used when evaluating biodiversity. Both cost-benefit analysis/contingent valuation and various deliberative institutional structures are discussed. It is concluded that deliberative institutions are the only ones that can offer contexts being consistent with the type of cognitive and normative issues involved. A list of more or less unresolved challenges to the application of these methods, is, however, also emphasized.
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Vatn, A. (2005). Valuing Forest Ecosystems — An Institutional Perspective. In: Kant, S., Berry, R.A. (eds) Institutions, Sustainability, and Natural Resources. Sustainability, Economics, and Natural Resources, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3519-5_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3519-5_5
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