Values and Economics in Environmental Management: A Perspective and Critique

Several categories of non-market value have been identified for forests and other natural environments: use value, option value, altruism, bequest value, existence value and intrinsic value. In this paper, we view these values from a psychological perspective. Non-market values arise because natural resources play important roles in furthering human goals. This goal perspective contrasts with intrinsic value—the idea that natural objects have value as ends in themselves regardless of their relationship to man. Because of the lack of precise definitions, elements of intrinsic value are often mixed with existence value, creating confusion in the literature. These resource values need to be examined on a logical as well as an empirical basis. We argue that careful scrutiny reveals problems with both existence value and intrinsic value so that it is important to question their role in policy formation and analysis.