The economy of edible weeds: evidence and conceptual framework
Abstract
Ecological and environmental economics provide a set of methodologies to measure the economic value of edible weeds, based on the assessment of the different trade-offs generated by their ecosystem services. These approaches may provide information on the economic importance of context-specific situations related to the use and consumption of edible weeds and wild edible plants. However, scattered sets of evidence do not provide a pluralistic and articulated view of the interconnected dynamics that regulate the economic importance of the ecosystem services provided within governed social-ecological systems. This chapter develops a new conceptual assessment framework and an optional set of indicators for evaluating the economic importance of edible weeds that integrates the socioeconomic, ecological, and institutional dynamics into the valuation process.