ABSTRACT
An assessment of multiple/total benefits provided by a PA will most likely make use of a range of valuation methods, depending on the benefits under review. As the previous chapters illustrate, assessments may focus on estimating the socio-economic value of different – tangible and intangible – benefits provided by PAs, such as provisioning of goods or protection against environmental hazards. In socio-economic terms, these benefits can result in real market revenue, avoided costs or increased personal well-being and cultural importance. With due data, some issues are amenable to monetary valuation, others are more typically represented in quantitative or qualitative terms (ten Brink et al., 2011a; White et al., 2011; Pascual et al., 2010). This mosaic of benefit types, beneficiaries, methodologies and indicators of value does not always render itself to direct comparisons, creating challenges for developing a realistic overall picture of the benefits at site level. The challenges and how to overcome them are discussed in detail in Section 12.1.
