Essentially this is a giant review of the environmental economics literature, notable principally for how well it has been promoted. It contains a large compendium of individual studies in the form of a set of appendices, and it is the specific monetary values from these which have received by far the most media attention.

The bulk of this volume, however, focuses more on methodological issues. There are seven chapters. The first introduces the overall framework. The second reviews ecosystem services; the third addresses biophysical indicators; and the fourth provides a sociocultural context. The fifth reviews economic valuation approaches; the sixth looks at discounting options; and the seventh examines policy implications. There are 85 authors and 39 reviewers, including some very well‐known environmental economists.