Review of the evaluation of marine ecosystem services value

Marine ecosystems provide benefits to human beings directly and indirectly, through the goods and services provided by their functional structures and ecological processes. Value for marine ecosystem services measure the contribution of marine ecosystems to human society and economies. To help protect the ocean and obtain benefits from it, evaluation methods of marine ecosystem services need to be improved. We compared the three main marine ecosystem service valuation methods: market value method, surrogate market method, and simulated market method, and found that each method has pros and cons. However, the possibility exists to combine and optimize the different methods. Typical marine ecosystem valuation case studies, such as those conducted in coastal sites, offshore sites, and ocean sites, reveal the crucial role of this research in policy choices for ocean resource development and protection, and price determination for marine ecosystem compensation and environmental damage penalties. In future studies, the connotation cognition and value of marine ecosystem services need to be analyzed more deeply; the evaluation methods for marine ecosystem service value need to be more dynamic, scientific, and predictive; the evaluation criteria for marine ecosystem service value should be constantly systematized and data collected; and the results of marine ecosystem services evaluations should be more closely tied to decision making and planning in marine-based economies.