Speaker: Professor Astrid Zabel, University of Bern, Switzerland

Chair: Jintao Xu

Time：16:00-17:30, Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Venue: Room 333, Chengzeyuan, NSD, PKU

Title: From monetary to plural valuation

Abstract

In her presentation PD Dr. Astrid Zabel will first give a brief overview of the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) where she works at the University of Bern in Switzerland. She will then present her recent work on monetary and plural valuation of ecosystem services, including a case study on applying the UN SEEA-EA guidelines to estimate the value of water for hydropower production in Switzerland. An open question in this context relates to the computation of monetary volumes of ecosystem services, e.g. for green GDP assessments. The issue arises from a mismatch between exchange values that are estimated based on demand and ecosystem quantities that typically are expressed from a supply perspective. In a further case study she will give insights on her plural valuation work applying the Nature Futures Framework in rural Laos. The presentation will close with an overview of her open research questions on forest biodiversity finance.

Short Bio

Astrid Zabel is an environmental economist, group leader, and member of the executive committee of the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) at the University of Bern in Switzerland. She obtained her PhD from ETH Zurich in 2010 and concluded her habilitation at the University of Bern in 2025. She currently supervises 5 PhD students and teaches introductory environmental economics to conservation biology students. Recent works include assessments of the EU Deforestation Regulation, empirical investigations of agglomeration bonus payments in Switzerland, and gaps between demand and supply of biodiversity finance. When she is not in the office, she spends time with her three teenage kids often helping tune her daughters’ musical instruments or tuning her son’s scooter.