Environmental Valuation Laboratory

Envalab is a research unit within the Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the University of Catania, aimed at advancing and applying economic methods for valuing nonmarket environmental goods and services.

Envalab's researches and applications:

• revealed preference methods: recreation demand models, replacement cost approach, hedonic price techniques, production function approaches
• stated preference methods; contingent valuation, choice experiments
• benefit transfer approaches
• Life satisfaction index approach

Envalab also offers consulting services to agencies and resource managers interested in taking adequately into account the economic value of ecosystem services in land management and planning, and in conservation investments.

Envalab's mission is to:

• advance the state of research and practice of economic valuation of nonmarket benefits provided by natural and environmental resources;
• foster nonmarket valuation research in Italy;
• provide a creative and high quality research atmosphere;
• promote student interest in the study of environmental valuation concepts and methods;
• encourage national and international scientific interactions in the field of environmental valuation;
• facilitate the use of nonmarket valuation tools in the conservation and management of environmental goods and services;
• provide consulting services related to natural resource damage assessment under the European Environmental Liability Directive, payment of ecosystem services schemes, social benefit - cost analysis of nature and heritage conservation/restoration projects, economics of protected areas and biodiversity;
• offer support to conservation managers, organizations and agencies to take ecosystem services provided by nature into account.

Visit the ENVALAB web site at http://www.envalab.unict.it