Pricing Biodiversity

In this paper, we propose a management price framework to inform decision making directed at the land-management unit level when biodiversity is one of several land-management objectives. The management prices synthesize information about the production relationships that link the public goods aspects of biodiversity to land-management activities. High management prices indicate high marginal returns to conservation effort and, thus, suggest a basis for prioritizing conservation effort. We construct a case study for Monroe County, Pennsylvania, to illustrate the concept of biodiversity management prices, to examine information needs, and to trace out a marginal cost curve for biodiversity.