Economic Valuation and Impact Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: A Scientometric and Narrative Review
Abstract
Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation highlight the need to better integrate ecosystem service value into environmental decision-making. This study examined global research on the economic valuation and impact assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services through scientometric analysis and narrative synthesis. A total of 2131 Scopus-indexed articles published from 1975 to 2025 were analyzed using Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny version 5.0 and VOSviewer version 1.6.20. Research output increased substantially after 2008, reflecting growing scientific and policy interest in biodiversity valuation and ecosystem services. The United States, the United Kingdom, and China dominated the literature, while several biodiversity-rich regions remained underrepresented. Major research themes included ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, economic valuation, sustainability, willingness to pay, and environmental policy, with emerging attention to natural capital, ecological restoration, and decision support. The narrative synthesis identified persistent challenges, including methodological differences, limited valuation of cultural and non-market services, insufficient baseline data, and inconsistent integration of valuation into environmental impact assessment. Overall, the findings emphasize the need for more inclusive, context-sensitive, and integrated valuation approaches to strengthen environmental assessment and support evidence-based conservation and policy decisions.