The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), a global project to “make nature’s values visible,” has compiled a dataset of scientific studies that attempt to value benefits that we derive from nature. While many people recognize the inherent value of ecosystems, their contribution to the economic and social wellbeing of people around the world are often overlooked because the ecosystem service “goods” are not priced like items in a grocery store. Economists have developed techniques to estimate the value of ecosystem services so that we might quantify these benefits from nature. While the TEEB initiative has cataloged the economic value of many of the world’s ecosystem services, they provide the data in a spreadsheet that may be intimidating to those interested in these ecosystem service values.
We use the TEEB database to create visually appealing and informative graphics depicting ecosystem service value estimates from around the world. The first graphic presents the median value of ecosystem services per hectare estimated by country. The following graphics build upon this map and allow the user to view the variation in estimated values by ecosystem service or biome. The user can select a country and/or ecosystem service value to see even more detail. Please explore and let us know how we can improve the visualizations.
The original data can be accessed at: http://www.teebweb.org/publication/tthe-economics-of-ecosystems-and-biodiversity-valuation-database-manual/
Interactive graphics designed and constructed by Kyra Adamson and Jude Bayham
Details on the methods can be found at: https://github.com/jbayham/TEEB_viz