Abstract
The salience of ecosystem services valuations (ESV) is not sufficient to provide meaningful information for decision makers and practitioners. Using deliberative approaches is seen as a way to enrich preferences and to increase the range of values assessed within valuation.This thesis proposes how ESV can account for the informational needs of practitioners, notably by using complementarities between traditional and deliberative monetary valuation.The impact of deliberation on the outcomes of ESV is tested in a case study about the landscapes of the Cévennes.A discrete choice experiment (DCE) within deliberative workshops with samples in the Cévennes and in Montpellier showed that participants preferred landscapes with agropastoral surfaces, broad-leaved trees, a controlled access for tourism and a conserved cultural heritage. These findings were complemented by a cluster analysis that determined groups of beneficiaries with varying bundles of ecosystem services (ES) that were perceived within the attributes of the DCE. One group showed high recognition of many ES, whereas a second group considered particularly agropastoral values and a last group perceived generally less ES than the others.The deliberative setting affected the preferences of both samples, but differently. Whereas the more experienced groups in the Cévennes expressed more moral values within deliberations, the effect for the Montpellier sample was that better informed preferences were formed and incorporated in valuation. Furthermore, a broader range of non-material ES were considered and indicators for the valuation quality improved.It can therefore be concluded that deliberative valuation is a suitable method to enhance valuation of unfamiliar goods such as ES. Concepts such as deliberation or ES bundles assessed by DCEs and coupled with qualitative approaches facilitate the use of valuation of ES within transdisciplinary processes and increase their salience for decision makers and practitioners.