ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF REGULATING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROVIDED BY FORESTS AS A FACTOR OF INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF REGIONAL FOREST MANAGEMENT
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Author(s): | Ivanov D. M., |
| Number of journal: | 3(76) | Date: | September 2026 |
| Annotation: | The aim of the study presented in the article is to identify the prospects for incorporating the economic assessment of the regulating ecosystem services provided by forests into the system of regional forest management on the example of the Leningrad Region. The article systematizes theoretical approaches to the economic assessment of regulating ecosystem services of forests. Based on the analysis of scientific literature and official statistical data, the necessity of integrating the cost assessment of climateregulating, water protection and soil protection functions of forests into the regional forest management system is substantiated. Using the data of the Forest Plan of the Leningrad Region and scientific publications, methodological approaches are tested: for the climate-regulating function, the methodology of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation with conversion coefficients is applied; for the water protection function, the cost-based approach based on replacement cost is applied; for the soil protection function, the prevented damage method is applied. It is shown that the cost assessment of regulating ecosystem services can significantly change the understanding of the economic efficiency of the forest complex of the region and justify the need for a transition from a predominantly raw materials model of forest management to an ecosystem-oriented one. The cost assessment of the climate-regulating function of forests in the Leningrad Region amounts to 40.7-61.0 billion rubles/year, the water protection function – 13.4-16.8 billion rubles/year, the soil protection function – 64.3-86.9 million rubles/year. The obtained estimates show that even the most conservative assessment of carbon sequestration exceeds the income from traditional timber harvesting by 15 times, indicating a significant underestimation of the ecological potential of forests in the existing management system. The directions for integrating ecosystem services indicators into regional forest plans and sustainable development strategies are proposed, among them the inclusion of quantitative indicators of regulating services in the Forest Plan of the Leningrad Region, the development of a payment system for ecosystem services, and the improvement of regional assessment methods. | ||
| Keywords: | ecosystem services, regulating services, economic assessment, carbon sequestration, climate-regulating function, water protection function, soil protection function, forest complex, Leningrad Region, natural capital, regional forest plans |
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| For citation: | Ivanov D. M. Economic assessment of regulating ecosystem services provided by forests as a factor of increasing the efficiency of regional forest management. Biznes. Obrazovanie. Pravo = Business. Education. Law. 2026;3(76):79—86. DOI: 10.25683/VOLBI.2026.76.1742. |
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