Social valuation of ecosystem services and public policy alternatives is one of the greatest challenges facing ecological economists today. Frameworks for valuing nature increasingly include shared/social values as a distinct category of values. However, the nature of shared/social values, as well as their relationship to other values, has not yet been clearly established and empirical evidence about the importance of shared/social values for valuation of ecosystem services is lacking. To help address these theoretical and empirical limitations, this paper outlines a framework of shared/social values across five dimensions: value concept, provider, intention, scale, and elicitation process. Along these dimensions we identify seven main, non-mutually exclusive types of shared values: transcendental, cultural/societal, communal, group, deliberated and other-regarding values, and value to society. Using a case study of a recent controversial policy on forest ownership in England, we conceptualise the dynamic interplay between shared/social and individual values. The way in which social value is assessed in neoclassical economics is discussed and critiqued, followed by consideration of the relation between shared/social values and Total Economic Value, and a review of deliberative and non-monetary methods for assessing shared/social values. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of shared/social values for decision-making

Informal institutions governing the use of wild species are present in many societies. A system of prohibitions known as fady is central to Malagasy culture. We examined whether fady that relate to the use of natural resources in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar play an important conservation role. Prohibitions ranged from strict taboos in which a species or area was forbidden by the ancestors to social norms that concerned acceptable behavior when harvesting wild species. Strict taboos offered real protection to threatened species, such as the lemur Propithecus edwardsi and the carnivore Cryptoprocta ferox. Taboos also reduced pressure on some economically important endemic species by preventing their sale or limiting the harvest season. Despite their value for conservation, the taboos did not appear to originate from attempts to sustainably manage resources. Nevertheless, social norms, in which the sanction was social disapproval rather than supernatural retribution, encouraged sustainable harvesting practices for tenrecs (Tenrec ecudatus) and pandans (Pandanus spp.). Unfortunately, the social norms concerning methods of harvesting pandans appeared to be breaking down in villages surrounding Ranomafana National Park, and we suggest that the imposition of external conservation rules is weakening traditional management. Informal institutions are important to conservation because they suggest ways of improving cultural understanding and conservation communication. Food taboos influence societal preferences, which affect the wider demand for a species. Most important, where capacity to enforce external conservation rules is limited, informal institutions may provide the only effective regulations. Informal institutions should receive greater attention from conservation biologists so that local people's conservation roles can be acknowledged fairly and so that potential synergies with conservation objectives can be realized.

T he world's oceans are in trouble. Global fish catches are declining (1), numerous populations of marine animals have collapsed (2-5), and communities and habitats have been extensively damaged or destroyed (6-10). Evidence is mounting that marine protected areas (MPAs), where fishing and other human activities are restricted or prohibited, conserve habitats and populations (1, 11-13) and, by exporting biomass, may also sustain or increase the overall yield of nearby fisheries (1, 11, 12). There has been considerable progress in identifying priority areas and efficient MPA configurations for marine conservation (14, 15). However, despite their growing significance for policy, we have virtually no data on how much MPAs cost to establish and run, how these costs vary, or whether a substantially expanded global network of MPAs could be afforded. To address these questions, we conducted the most extensive survey to date of how much MPAs cost. Our SurveyTo evaluate the costs of MPAs, we sent a questionnaire (see supporting information, which is published on the PNAS web site) to Ϸ500 individuals involved in running MPAs worldwide. We requested information on MPA area, protection type and goals, staffing, recurrent income and expenditure, and how much (if any) extra expenditure and staff were required for minimum effective protection. We supplemented questionnaire returns with information from the published and gray literature. All costs were converted to year 2000 U.S. dollars by using the local currency to U.S. dollar exchange rate for the reported year and a U.S. gross domestic product deflator index.We excluded from our analyses MPAs whose marine components covered Ͻ50% of the MPA area. In order for our calculations to overestimate, if anything, the costs of marine conservation, for all other partially terrestrial reserves, we attributed all costs to their marine sector if we did not have a more detailed cost breakdown. To be similarly conservative, we excluded five MPAs whose questionnaire returns suggested that, despite having no budget at present, they required no extra money.This left us with data for a total of 83 MPAs worldwide (12 from Africa, 12 from Asia, 10 from Australasia and Oceania, 13 from Europe, 13 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 23 from North America), ranging in size from Ͻ0.1 km 2 to Ͼ300,000 km 2 . As well as encompassing a broad geographic and size range, our sample included a wide spectrum of management types (run by government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and local communities; zoned and not zoned), objectives (e.g., biodiversity protection, recreation, conflict reduction, and fishery enhancement), and resources protected (e.g., coral reefs, whales, and coastal scenery). Of the 76 MPAs that reported their purpose, 75 (98.7%) listed habitat and species protection (the remaining MPA was solely for research), and protection was the primary purpose for 58 (76.5%). Therefore, our sample is broadly representative of the range of MPAs in use worldwide (16), and should produc...

Background: Establishing Protected Areas (PAs) is among the most common conservation interventions. Protecting areas from the threats posed by human activity will by definition inhibit some human actions. However, adverse impacts could be balanced by maintaining ecosystem services or introducing new livelihood options. Consequently there is an ongoing debate on whether the net impact of PAs on human well-being at local or regional scales is positive or negative. We report here on a systematic review of evidence for impacts on human well-being arising from the establishment and maintenance of terrestrial PAs. Methods: Following an a priori protocol, systematic searches were conducted for evidence of impacts of PAs post 1992. After article title screening, the review was divided into two separate processes; a qualitative synthesis of explanations and meaning of impact and a review of quantitative evidence of impact. Abstracts and full texts were assessed using inclusion criteria and conceptual models of potential impacts. Relevant studies were critically appraised and data extracted and sorted according to type of impact reported. No quantitative synthesis was possible with the evidence available. Two narrative syntheses were produced and their outputs compared in a metasynthesis.

Summary1. Many aspects of human behaviour impact on ecological systems. Ecologists therefore need information on changes in these behaviours and are increasingly using methods more familiar to social scientists. 2. Understanding patterns of wildlife harvesting is important for assessing the sustainability of harvests. Interviews are commonly used in which informants are asked to summarize their activities over a period of time. However, few studies have investigated the reliability of such data, the usefulness of interviews for monitoring trends, and how their information content can be maximized. 3. We carried out rapid assessment interviews with villagers in Madagascar about the quantity, timing and spatial patterns of crayfish Astacoides granulimanus and firewood collection. We compared the results with information from daily interviews with the same informants. We used mixed models to investigate how accurately people reported their activities in the rapid assessment interviews, and estimated the probability of detecting a change in harvesting from two such interviews using a Bayesian approach. 4. The interviews provided reliable information on quantities, effort, and the spatial pattern of harvesting. Simulations suggested the interviews would detect changes in catches and harvesting effort with reasonable power; for example, a 20% change in the amount of time spent crayfish harvesting could be detected with 90% power. Power is higher when the same informants are questioned in repeat interviews. 5. Synthesis and applications . Ecologists are increasingly using social techniques and it is vital that they are subject to rigorous testing to ensure robustness in trend detection. This study suggests that interviews can be used to monitor changes in harvesting patterns by resource users, but whether the power is adequate will depend on the needs of the study. To maximize the power of interviews, informants should be interviewed independently and the same informants interviewed in subsequent years.