Formulating the Criteria and Indexes for Valuation of Cultural Services of Natural Ecosystems on the Basis of Endemic Characteristics of Iran

The natural environment is one of the most valuable properties of the human being, but its real cost has not been recognized yet. Therefore, the valuation of natural ecosystems that provide various social, cultural and environmental services to urban fabric collections has received special attention in recent years. In this study, after a review of valuation systems of cultural services in several countries, as well as exploratory interviews with relevant experts and researchers in Iran, some criteria, sub-criteria, and indicators for valuing cultural services have been suggested by applying Delphi method. After studying the available resources and reviewing the interviews 5 main indexes with 17 sub-indexes and 56 indicators were extracted and introduced for evaluation of cultural services of natural ecosystems. Five main indexes include aesthetic, outgoing, cultural, spiritual, and education. These indexes have sub-indexes named diversity of perspectives, natural life, specific species and protection significance for the aesthetic index. An outgoing index has two sub-indexes namely natural parks and entertainment facilities. Cultural indexes have five sub-indexes namely historical sites, cultural heritage, nature as an intuition source for artistic activities, religious locations, and cultural occurrences. A spiritual index has only one sub-indexes named religious beliefs. Eventually, education index has five sub-indexes namely knowledge about an ecosystem, traditional knowledge, knowledge management, knowledge of stakeholders and experiencing nature. It is possible to identify criteria and indicators and match them with cultural values in planning.