Increasing interest in measuring, modelling, and valuing ecosystem services has resulted in the development of an array of assessment tools in recent years. However, selecting an appropriate tool for measuring and modelling ecosystem services can be challenging.
This report provides guidance for practitioners on existing tools that can be applied to measure or model ecosystem services provided by important sites for biodiversity and nature conservation, including Key Biodiversity Areas, natural World Heritage sites, and protected areas. Selecting an appropriate tool requires identifying the specific question being addressed, what sorts of results or outputs are required, and consideration of practical factors such as the level of expertise, time, and data required for applying any given tool.
This guide builds on existing reviews of ecosystem services assessment tools, but it has an explicit focus on assessing ecosystem services for sites of importance for biodiversity and nature conservation.