Study: Economic Value of Lakes and Wetlands (July 2013)
Ecosystem services have numerous characteristics that are of public value. Because of this, the public and private sector use them without remuneration or offsetting. In the past years, the discussion of the contribution of ecosystems and their value for the economy and public especially has picked up, in part because of the “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” (TEEB) study. The goal is to inform companies, local governments and the public of the value of the ecosystem services of lakes and wetlands, thereby promoting their preservation. The project should contribute to the current political and scientific discussion on the valuation of ecosystem services using the example of lake regions.
To do this, a complete survey of ecosystem services of lakes needs to be made. In addition to this, it will be shown how companies and the public can profit from these services as well as how private industry possibilities can contribute to the preservation of lakes. This general assessment is supplemented by a concrete case study of Lake Constance. This project is implemented in cooperation with the Forestry College Rottenburg and sponsored by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and the Federal Environmental Agency.
Project Partners:
Supported by:
Project Duration:
Project Partner:
December 2012 – March 2013
Lake Constance Foundation, University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburg (HFR)
German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA)