Social valuation of the ecosystem services from coastal wetlands: current status and perspectives

Ecosystem Services (ES) include goods and benefits that people obtain from nature and to which ecological, economic and social values are assigned, although less attention has been given to the study of the latter. This deficiency is particularly notable for coastal wetlands, which provide important ES, rarely studied from a social and spatial perspective, despite their relevance in territorial planning. To define the state-of-the-art about social assessment of SE in coastal wetlands and the importance of spatial analysis in that process, a systematic documentary review (2005-2018) was carried out, finding a positive trend in the number of publications, with a notable increase in the last three years. It was found that social value lacks clear definition and has focused on services without market value, while in terms of spatial dimension it has been included with participatory mapping schemes, aimed at determining the accessibility to SE provision sites and the identification of social value sites within the wetlands, but with a little relevant map production. No elements were found to conclude if social valuation is complementary or alternative to the economic one, but it is necessary to create a conceptual framework for the integral valuation, based on the plurality of values of the SE as a strategy for the conservation of wetlands.