The economic value of wetland services: a meta-analysis

The number of studies quantify the value of wetlands and the services provided by these ecosystems is rapidly expanding. The time is ripe for an assessment of what has been learned from this literature. Using results from 39 studies, we evaluate the relative value of different wetland services, the sources of bias in wetland valuation and the returns to scale exhibited in wetland values. While some general trends are beginning to emerge, the prediction of a wetland's value based on previous studies remains highly uncertain and the need for site-specific valuation efforts remains large. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.