Ecosystem Services Valuation for Sustainable Development

This book discusses state-of-the-art techniques for ecosystem service valuation of forests, rivers, wetlands, lakes and coastal ecosystems, for their sustainable development and management. An ecosystem service valuation can be used to address environmental degradation of natural resources. Numerous natural and man-made factors like climate change, pollution, encroachment, and over-exploitation, have put ecosystems under threat worldwide. These ecosystems provide a lot of services to human beings but many of these services are not taken into account in the market prices for products and services, and their ecological functions are not economically valued. The valuation of these ecosystems' services will help to shed light on their sustainable management. This book offers a fresh and innovative resource that captures the latest advancements, addresses emerging challenges, and propels the field forward, making it a must-have for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. This book is also useful for stakeholders to achieve United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals 6 (Sustainability of water resources) and 13 (Climate action).

The most relevant target audiences are hydrologists, hydrogeologists, environmental scientists, ecologists, biologists, and academicians. This book can be useful to post-graduate students, researchers, academicians, policy makers, NGOs in these fields. It also appeals to professionals in the fields of urban planning, agriculture, forestry, water resources management and environmental policy.

Dr. Sabu Joseph obtained his doctorate in geology from the University of Kerala, India, in 1997. Presently, he serves as Professor and Head at the Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Kerala, India. Additionally, he holds the position of Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology. His current research areas include hydrogeochemistry, isotope hydrology, ecosystem service valuation, and remote sensing. Over the years, he has authored numerous research papers in reputable international journals, along with books, handbooks, and book chapters. He has made noteworthy contributions to the field of ecosystem service valuation through successful completion of three years Indo-Israel international project on ecosystem valuation of a Ramsar site in India using innovative techniques and impactful publications of novel outcomes in esteemed journals. Furthermore, Dr. Joseph contributes his expertise as a member of the Board of Studies, Academic Council and Innovation Council of the University of Kerala, as well as serving as an expert in various State Government departments.

Dr. A.P. Pradeepkumar is currently a Professor in the Department of Geology, University of Kerala, India and also the Director of the School of Earth System Sciences. He was formerly with the School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi, University, India as a Reader in Disaster Management. He completed his BSc and MSc from the University of Kerala, and obtained his doctorate in geology from the same university. He was associated with CDM and JI projects for carbon credits as part of European Union projects in the IER, Stuttgart, Germany, for three years in the early 2000s. He has published articles in the areas of Disaster Management, GIS, Ore Genesis, Petrology. He has also served as a hydrogeologist in the Central Ground Water Board of India. He has more than 25 years of experience in the area of teaching, research and extension.