Earth Economics

Quantifying and Mapping Values at Risk in our National Forests ($45,100)

Recipient: Earth Economics

Project Partners: US Forest Service

Building ecosystem resilience on US Forest Service (USFS) land is critically important to preserving these natural assets in a changing climate. Earth Economics builds upon existing partnership with USFS to integrate its ecosystem service valuation framework—which provides dollar values for ecosystem services produced by forest lands—with the existing USFS decision-support tool, called the Conservation Finance Opportunities Map. This project will leverage an ecosystem service valuation approach to quantify the economic, social, and environmental value created by the natural and built infrastructure on USFS land— these are the “Values at Risk” of being lost to fire and pests, which can be protected by restoring forests to a more resilient state. Combining valuation methodologies with the Map will help make the business case to potential conservation finance investors that spending on nature-based solutions in and around our national forests is an effective way of building community resilience and ecosystem health.