Valuing Informal Recreation on the Forestry Commission Estate

This bulletin describes a monetary calculation of the use-value for informal recreation to value the environmental costs and benefits in units that will allow direct comparison with timber production. Multiple use of forests has been a central policy of the Forestry Commission for years.

---

Multiple use of forests has been a central policy of the Forestry Commission for years. Natural forests are places for recreation of many kinds and for timber production as well as habitats for a diverse range of wildlife species. The problem of such multiple objectives and uses is that no markets exist to value the outputs. This bulletin describes a monetary calculation of the use-value for informal recreation to value the environmental costs and benefits in units that will allow direct comparison with timber production.