nonuse value

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-019068",
  "term": "nonuse value",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. The value people hold for a service that they do not directly use. [Sometimes referred to as \"passive use value.\"] Early literature in environmental economics split nonuse value into three components: existence value, option value and bequest value. Nonuse values are theoretically distinct from use values, although the boundary between use and nonuse values is often fuzzy.\n\n2. Value encompassed in a good that we enjoy but do not necessarily use. Includes the value we hold in knowing a thing exists, valuing someone else's use of a thing, or knowing that we might someday want to use or enjoy a thing.\n\n3. Human preferences for goods or services that are not associated with or derived from direct use or contact with them. For instance, individuals may care about or appreciate EEPs, even if they never directly use or see them - i.e., they may have non-use values for the existence of things like tropical forests or pristine lakes, even if they never visit them. Sometimes referred to as \"passive use value,\" nonuse values are theoretically distinct from \"use values,\" although the boundary between use and nonuse values is not always definitive. Different types of nonuse value include existence value, option value, and bequest value. Context: The recognition that humans enjoy and benefit from ecosystems in ways that do not involve direct use is essential for developing a comprehensive accounting of the total benefits provided by nature. Example: Individuals often value the assurance that threatened and endangered species are being protected, even if they will never see them in the wild, simply because they benefit from knowing that the species exist.\n\n4. The value that an individual may derive from a good or resource without consuming it, as opposed to the value obtained from use of the resource. Non-use values can include bequest value, where an individual places a value on the availability of a resource to future generations; existence value, where an individual values the mere knowledge of the existence of a good or resource; and paternalistic altruism, where an individual places a value on others’ enjoyment of the resource.",
  "subject": "Ecosystems",
  "references": [
    "Core Ecosystem Services Research Program Standard Lexicon",
    "EPA Subject Matter Expert - Thurston",
    "NESCS Plus Glossary",
    "Economic Analyses Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/nonuse-value/"
}