Applying benefit transfer with limited data: Unit value transfers in practice

Unit value or point value transfers from individual source studies remain the oldest and most common form of benefit transfer. Although practitioners generally recommend benefit function transfers, these are not always possible. Where unit value transfers are to be performed, appropriate protocols must be followed to select source studies, transfer values, and perform necessary value adjustments. This chapter demonstrates the processes and challenges involved in the implementation of unit value transfers, using case studies of environmental values in a peri-urban community on the east coast of Australia where key ecosystems ranged from coastal beaches to inland forests. Key issues in evaluating the potential for benefit transfer included the availability and quality of source studies, the extent of overlap between source studies and the target site, the need for different forms of adjustment to account for variations in scope and scale, and the limitations to unit value transfers.