Recognizing the need for robust data on spatial ecosystem service values, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) commissioned a project to update “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” (TEEB) database and lay the foundation for the Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (ESVD)—the world’s largest open-access repository of spatially explicit ecosystem service values.

The Challenge:

Governments and policymakers require robust, science-based data to effectively integrate natural capital and ecosystem services into decision-making. However, existing valuation databases lacked the depth, coverage, and analytical capacity to support detailed policy assessments. Defra aimed to improve data availability, particularly for key UK biomes such as wetlands and coastal systems, which are crucial for national nature policy strategies. The challenge was to expand the database’s scope and depth while ensuring that the new data could support policy-relevant insights and economic assessments. 

Our Approach:

To meet this challenge, we worked on significantly expanding and updating the ESVD, ensuring that it could serve as a powerful tool for policy-relevant natural capital assessments. We performed an extensive literature review to collect scientific evidence of valuation data for UK's ecosystems and applied Ecosystem Services Valuation (ESV) methodologies to compile and analyze it. 

Our contributions included: 

• Tripling the number of recorded ecosystem service values, from 1,300 to over 4,000 entries.

• Expanding the number of analyzed studies from 267 to nearly 700, improving the dataset’s scientific rigor.

• Adding 3,500 new publications with valuable ecosystem service data, increasing the stored literature 14-fold for future analysis. 

This expansion provided the critical mass needed for meta-analytical functions, allowing for more detailed and policy-relevant assessments. 

Outcomes & Impact:

Our work enabled Defra to obtain essential evidence on the state of the UK’s natural capital, providing a stronger foundation for policy assessments. The enhanced ESVD now serves as a key tool in data-backed decision-making for ecosystem services and natural capital policies, supporting partners worldwide. 

• For policymakers: The improved dataset allows decision-makers to better understand how different policy scenarios impact natural capital, helping to shape positive national strategies.

• For economic planning: By incorporating the socio-economic contributions of nature into policy frameworks, governments can more effectively navigate trade-offs between conservation, development, and economic priorities.

• For global research & collaboration: The ESVD continues to evolve with regular updates that add valuation data from around the world as well as new functionalities, supporting organizations worldwide in integrating ecosystem services into decision-making.

This project demonstrated how governments and policymakers can strengthen decision-making by leveraging accurate, science-based data on ecosystem services. It highlighted the value of specialized, targeted ESV information in defining baselines, trends, and policy objectives, ultimately improving the effectiveness of nature strategies.