| Summary: | International audience Deteriorating ecosystems generate economic, social and societal costs that are often very high, even though quantification of these costs has been a major challenge. The decision-making processes require sound valuation of potential development projects and economic investments in terms of ecosystem services quantity and quality. Several studies have focused on how to value ecosystem services and the different aspects to be considered and calculated, relying on previous works in the field of economics of environment and natural resources. These previous attempts are often limited by a rather poor comprehension of the ecosystems’ complexity. Whereas production services and their economic valuation in terms of methods and results are available, regulatory services remain to be enlightened through an improved knowledge of ecosystems’ functioning by including human activities as part of the ecosystem, both as a service user and provider. To better understand this, the focus will first be on the valuation of decreased ecosystem services for arid areas through a reflection of the earlier methods and results obtained.
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