Socioeconomic Value(s) of Restoring Environmental Flows: Systematic Review and Guidance for Assessment

摘要: The preservation of instream flows entails multiple benefits not only for river ecosystems but also human well-being. Benefits marketed goods and services provided by water withdrawals such as irrigation, supply hydropower production are well-known. Others, recreational, aesthetic, cultural existence values a well-preserved less studied. There is an increasing interest policy makers to understand the costly ecosystem restoration measures. Moreover, disregarding may turn into inter-stakeholder conflicts. This paper reviews empirically-based literature assessing environmental restoration/conservation. Thus, it offers state-of-the-art on three aspects: 1) what motivations drive socioeconomic evaluation (policies alternative flow regimes); 2) associated with (e.g. sheer river, productive assets attributes); 3) methods employed undertake assessments scenario development, monetary non-monetary valuations, stakeholders engagement). Building this, we propose methodological framework case-specific flows. This proposal combines increased stakeholder participation, better understanding functioning, awareness plurality accurate choice valuation methods. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.