Introduction: Benefit transfer of environmental and resource values

The goal of this handbook is to provide comprehensive coverage of contemporary methods, issues and challenges in benefit transfer, addressing topics relevant to both researchers and practitioners. This initial chapter provides an overview of benefit transfer and establishes the background for the handbook. It begins with a brief summary of benefit transfer methods and applications, including some of the key challenges faced by researchers and analysts. This sets the context for the remainder of the book. The chapter then provides background on the motivations for using benefit transfer and the historical development of transfer methods. These motivations, and the many of the controversies and challenges surrounding the development of benefit transfer, are summarized into three themes: pragmatic need, accuracy and validity. The chapter concludes with a summary of the handbook structure and a brief discussion about the potential for future development of benefit transfer.