Measuring and Valuing Ecosystem Contribution to Tourism and Leisure Services

Tender description

Project: project_22663 - Measuring and Valuing Ecosystem Contribution to Tourism and Leisure Services The Project Aim The primary aim of this project is to devise a transparent and repeatable method for, and provide estimates of, the contribution of ecosystems to UK tourism and leisure output as part of the UK Natural Capital Accounts, based on the ecosystem accounting principles of the UN System of Environmental and Economic Accounts (SEEA). It will explore the merits of two approaches to estimating this:  A sectoral based approach. Identifying what fraction of UK tourism expenditure and output can be attributed to natural capital.  A bottom-up, activities-based approach. Estimating benefits to businesses related to specific tourism and recreational activities. This work will enable Defra and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to make further solid progress in developing a comprehensive set of natural capital accounts for the UK, as set out in the 2020 Natural Capital Accounting Roadmap. The Requirements To meet the aims of the project, the following objectives must be met: 1) Clarify conceptual rationale, scope and definition of the ecosystem service provided to tourism and leisure output. 2) Establish a typology of relevant tourism and leisure activities for inclusion, varied spatially where possible, and being clear which activities are in out and of scope. 3) Assess the relative merits of sectoral (top-down) and activity-based (bottom-up) approaches and how they relate to one another. 4) Develop initial accounting estimates using one or both approaches, with broad habitat split, and identifying use as well as supply. 5) Consider how the estimates provided articulate with the other natural capital accounts, especially the implications for the measurement and valuation of current recreation estimates. 6) Conclude on general methods and principles that could be relevant for practitioners of sub-national accounting.