Durban is located within a globalbiodiversity hotspot, and still contains a wealth ofbiodiversity. Some of this is protected in nature reserves,but much of it is in private hands or in communal lands onthe city’s periphery. City managers are divided over thelevel of attention that should be given to preserving theseremaining natural areas. While it is argued that they make asignificant contribution to biodiversity conservation in theprovince, provide valuable ecosystem services and willcontribute to the city’s resilience in the face of climatechange, the counter argument is that much of this areashould make way for development to alleviate the escalatingproblem of unemployment. The study of ecosystem services andtheir value to society has made significant advances sincean estimate was made of Durban’s ecosystem services in the1990s using early values from the international literature.The aim of this study was to provide estimates of the valueof ecosystem services provided by natural open space areaswithin the eThekwini Municipal Area (EMA), and to map thegeographic variation in these values as far as possible soas to be able to compare both areas and types of value,using available and locally-relevant data. This study wascarried out as a desktop study based on available data.Modelling assumptions were based on data from within thestudy area, drawing on the regional, national orinternational literature only where necessary. The studyfocused on the direct values associated with the provisionof natural resources, indirect use values associated withregulating services generated by ecosystem functioning, andthe amenity values generated by ecosystem attributes.
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