June 27, 2018
Posted by admin
Mapping the economic value of landslide regulation by forests
Luke published an article in the journal Ecosystem Services on the economic value of forests in regulating landslide risk. The role of forests in regulating landslide risks is well established but estimates of the economic value of this ecosystem service are limited. In order to incorporate the role of forests for landslide risk mitigation in spatial planning and other decision-making contexts, there is a need for spatially explicit information regarding the value of this service. The paper develops a methodological framework to combine bio-physical modelling of natural hazard risk and socio-economic exposure in a predictive model to estimate and map of the economic value of forest regulation of landslides. This method is applied in a case study of Adjara Autonomous Republic of Georgia to examine alternative scenarios for forest management and associated land cover change. The approach produces credible spatially explicit results to inform policy decisions regarding investment in forest management; and has the potential for replication in other data scarce regions.
The article can be accessed here: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1XHgC7szSIq-00