Model-based Tracking and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services (MoTIVES)

Award Period
to
Award Amount
$726,923
Agency Name
Duke University
Award Number
313-000044
PI First Name
Andrew
PI Last Name
Plantinga
MSI People
Area/s of Research
Marine Conservation, Policy and Education
Abstract

Overview

We will collaborate with partners at Duke University on a research project under the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program’s (SERDP) Resource Conservation and Resiliency program. The purpose of this work is to develop, demonstrate, and deliver a computational assessment tool called MoTIVES (Model-based Tracking and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services) that can be used at any Department of Defense facility to document, predict, and enhance the delivery of valuable ecosystem services while ensuring the continued availability of necessary training and testing conditions. Building on a Limited Scope Project that applied MoTIVES to Eglin Air Force Base, this next phase of the project will apply the model to three additional bases.

Approach

Our work will support the portion of the project focused on providing economic valuation of benefit relevant indicators (BRIs). The methods will involve direct valuation methods, especially for marketed goods (e.g., timber), and benefits transfer, especially for non-market goods (e.g., wildlife habitat). Expanding our work under the Limited Scope Project, our evaluation of ecosystem services will include: wildfire risk and damage, respiratory health, timber harvest, energy production, recreation, carbon storage, endangered species protection, hunted/harvested species, flood damage, shoreline erosion, potable water quality, and agricultural/industry water use. In addition to benefit-cost calculations, we will explore the use of other approaches such as multi- attribute tradeoff weighting, risk-adjusted utility measures, and acceptability (threshold) criteria.