Many elements of wilderness and wild lands, including their
intrinsic spiritual, landscape and biodiversity values, are
literally priceless. The quantification approach is thus
intended to supplement and not supplant traditional approaches
to assessment of wildland. However it is increasingly feasible
and indeed important to quantify the benefits of wilderness,
wildlands and large natural habitat areas, both in monetary
terms and for wider societal gain. It is important to quantify
the benefits of wild areas: - To provide cost:benefit based
argument against threats and alternative land uses - In support
of funding requests for protection or restoration projects - To
inform policy decisions, particularly in competition with other
sectors Valuation of wild areas helps articulate their
importance to key decision takers, whether local landholders or
national politicians who tend to be predominantly urban. It can
also help underwrite wider support among media and the general
public, with wilderness increasingly se