Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (ESVD)

Original Publication: Final report June 2020

The Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (ESVD) aims to support informed decision-making in ecosystem management by providing robust, monetized data on the economic benefits and costs of ecosystems and biodiversity. The database currently holds 9,500 value records from more than 1,100 studies, covering various biomes and geographic regions. By presenting these values in monetary terms, the ESVD helps internalize the significance of nature in policy and management decisions.

The ESVD is a follow-up to the “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” (TEEB) database which contained over 1,300 data points from 267 case studies on monetary values of ecosystem services across all biomes.

Ecosystems and Land Cover

Based off of TEEB biomes.

Open sea/ocean

• Shelf sea / neritic zone

• Deep sea / Abyssal zone

• Pelagic zone (up to 200 m deep)

• Other (sea/ocean)

Coral reefs

• Barrier reefs

• Atolls

• Fringing reefs

• Patch reefs

• Other (coral reefs)

Coastal systems (incl wetlands)

• Sand dunes, beaches, rocky shores

• Tidal marshes

• Salt marshes

• Mangroves

• Lagoons

• Estuaries

• Unvegetated sediment

• Shellfish reefs

• Seagrass beds

• Kelp forests

• Other (coastal systems)

Inland wetlands

• Swamps, marshes

• Peatland, Non-forested

• Peatland, Forested

• Peatland, Tropical

• Peatland, Boreal Wetlands,

• Forested (on alluvial soils)

• Wetlands, Groundwater-dependent

• Floodplains

• Other (inland wetlands)

Rivers and lakes

• Rivers

• Lakes, freshwater

• Lakes, saltwater

• Human made water bodies

• Other (rivers and lakes)

Tropical forests

• Tropical rain forest

• Tropical dry forest

• Tropical cloud forests

• Other (tropical forests)

Temperate forests

• Temperate rain or evergreen forest

• Temperate deciduous forest

• Boreal/coniferous forest (‘Taiga’)

• Other (temperate forests)

Woodland & Shrubland

• Tropical wood-& shrublands

• Mediterranean wood-& shrubland

• Temperate wood-& shrubland

• Heathland

• Other (woodland and shrubland)

Grass-/Rangeland

• Savanna

• Tropical grasslands

• Temperate grasslands

• Steppe (dry, cold grassland)

• Other (grassland)

Desert

• True desert (sand/rock/salt)

• Semi-desert

• Other (desert)

Tundra

• Alpine Tundra

• Arctic Tundra

• Other (tundra)

High mountain & Polar systems

• High Mountain - forest

• High Mountain - grassland

• High Mountain - snow and ice

• Polar Other (high mountains and polar)

Inland Un- or Sparsely Vegetated

• Underground systems

• Inland rock formations

• Other (inland un- or sparsely vegetated)

Cultivated areas

• Cropland (arable land)

• Pastures

• Orchards/agro-forestry

• Plantations

• Rice paddies, etc

• Aquaculture

• Small landscape elements

• Other (cultivated areas)

Urban Green and Blue Infrastructure

• Urban Parks & Forests

• Lawns, sports fields, golf courses

• Urban lakes, ponds, wetlands

• Cultivated areas

• (Street) Trees & Shrubs

• Other (urban green-blue)

Other

• Other