Possibilities of economic valuation of the planned land use changes in terms of the natural environment

Abstract

The land use structure is changed in consequence of implementing decisions taken in spatial planning documents. The change is usually set along the directions of modifying stable ecosystems into unstable ones, which has an adverse impact on the biodiversity and ecosystem services. Including the concept of ecosystem services into the strategic assessment of the environmental impact would form a basis for a quantitative valuation of the effects which the delivery of spatial planning decisions exerts on the environment. The main objective of this study is to present financial effects of the changes in the land use provided for in the local spatial management plan, currently reflected in the financial projection, as well as to present the Biotope Valuation Method (BMV) as an example of a tool to value the above changes, and finally to present the concept of ecosystem services as a perspective to estimate environmental changes resulting from spatial planning decisions.