An Application of the Life Satisfaction Approach (LSA) to Value the Land Consumption and Ecosystem Services

Abstract

Land systems combine land use and land cover, considering that their changes have important consequences for the local environment and human well-being and are pervasive factors of regional and global environmental change. More specifically, land consumption (LC), due to the occupation of originally agricultural, natural, or semi-natural areas, implies a progressive loss of key environmental resources and ecosystem services (ESs), reducing the individual well-being. Furthermore, policy makers need data on the benefits of public goods in monetary terms to support well-being-oriented decision-making. This work seeks to demonstrate that life satisfaction approach (LSA) can be applied to a practical assessment goal with the intention to give a monetary value to the LC and consequently to a loss of important ESs.