Valuation of Cultural Ecosystem Services of Innovative Nature-based solutions in an urban context : The case study of the EU Project VARCITIES in Gzira, Malta

Cities in today's world are growing and housing billions of people. It is predicted that 68% of people on Earth would live in urban areas by 2050. Our increasingly urban lifestyles are stressing ecosystems and accelerating climate change. Cities use 75% of the world's natural resources, produce 80% of the world's GDP, and are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Rapid urbanization and its environmental consequences have resulted in the depletion of natural resources and the degradation of ecosystem services, posing a number of challenges for human well-being. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) are one of many tools we have at our disposal to lessen the effects of climate change. NBS are recognized as multi-purpose solutions with greater co-benefits than traditional technical measures. Urban NBS, such as green spaces, have been identified as a potential solution to mitigate the negative effects of urbanization by providing ecosystem services that contribute to the health and well-being of urban residents. However, the economic value of cultural ecosystem services (CES) provided by urban green spaces is frequently overlooked, resulting in undervaluation and underinvestment. It is difficult to assign a monetary value to ecosystems. This approach of valuing only carbon sequestration among a vast number of ecosystem services discouraged NBS projects in a variety of countries because it was nearly impossible to earn credits for non-quantifiable benefits. Non-market valuation is one effective way, to fill this gap. Calculating citizens' willingness to pay for NBS in urban green spaces is a way for their successful implementation and maintenance. This also empowers citizens to declare their prefernces and affect deciosins. The valuation of cultural ecosystem services of the VARCITIES project in Gzira, Malta, is the focus of this thesis. The study will investigate the economic value of the cultural ecosystem services provided by the innovative NBS in an urban context.