We will analyse the capacity of forest ecosystems to provide natural insurance services. The results will help expand the awareness, acceptance and a common understanding of these ecosystem services. Within the framework of case studies, we want to illustrate the potential and value of these services in an exemplary way. We will define the preferences of forest and building owners, investigate the various institutional frameworks and identify success factors. The information thus acquired will then be used to develop an operational business model that can be used in practice for sustainable insurance against natural hazards.
Forest ecosystems provide the population with services free of charge, such as protection against natural hazards. If the protective service is improved through forest management and this contributes towards hazard prevention, then forest owners render, so to speak, a natural insurance service to endangered house owners. As this service is usually not paid for, this can result in an undersupply. This means that the forest is less well cared for and the population receives less protection than is actually possible.
In order to assess the unpaid protection services provided by forest ecosystems, we will determine the natural potential and financial value of the insurance service as accurately as possible. This information will then be incorporated into an insurance model in which the preferences of forest owners as providers and homeowners as consumers of the service can be compared. Based on case studies we will check whether the model can be applied in practice, which frameworks are needed and how this can improve the efficiency and sustainability of hazard prevention.
The project expands the scientific bases for insurance services of forests and defines their value from the population’s perspective. In this way we can enhance the awareness of human dependence on natural resources and foster their inclusion in political, economic and individual decision-making.
Determining the Insurance Value of Ecosystems (DIVES)
