The Changing Wealth of Nations - Global Assessment of the Economic Value of Non-Wood Forest Ecosystem Services

Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly provide an investment rating for the industry. Core Insights - The report highlights that non-wood forest ecosystem services contribute significantly to global natural capital wealth, with an estimated value exceeding US$10 trillion, of which non-wood services account for approximately 73% [19][20]. - The global average marginal value per hectare for non-wood forest ecosystem services in 2020 ranges from US$6.80 for non-wood forest products to US$48 for recreation [19]. - The assessment employs a meta-analytic predictive model using regression and machine learning techniques to estimate the economic value of four ecosystem services: recreation, hunting, fishing, non-wood forest products, and watershed protection [16][19]. Summary by Sections Section 1: Introduction - The introduction discusses the economic benefits generated by forests through ecosystem services, emphasizing the importance of non-wood forest ecosystem services in contributing to natural capital wealth [16][19]. Section 2: Development of Database - This section details the literature review process and the development of a database of non-wood forest ecosystem service valuation studies, incorporating 79 new primary valuation estimates from 677 additional papers [22][23]. - The report identifies that the largest increases in new value estimates come from Asia (34%), Africa (32%), and Europe (19%) [18][19]. Section 3: Methods for Spatial Estimation - The report outlines the construction of predictive models for estimating the value of non-wood forest ecosystem services, utilizing a 0.1º by 0.1º grid to forecast local values globally [20][22]. Section 4: Database Construction and Descriptive Analysis - This section describes the compilation of predictor variables and the construction of a global database to estimate the local value of non-wood forest ecosystem services [20][22]. Section 5: Estimation Results and Global Predictions - The estimation results indicate substantial heterogeneity in values by location and ecosystem service type, with country-level estimates derived from aggregating grid-cell level predictions [20][22]. Section 6: Contribution of Protected Areas - The report develops an operational method for assessing the contribution of protected areas to the value of non-wood forest products, highlighting the economic significance of these areas [20][22]. Section 7: Discussion - The discussion concludes the report by summarizing the findings and emphasizing the need for continued research and valuation of non-wood forest ecosystem services [20][22].