Valuing hunting as an ecosystem service: a national-level assessment using cost-based and benefit transfer methods in the Czech Republic

• First national valuation of hunting ecosystem services in the Czech Republic. • Recreational hunting value exceeds provisioning by up to 17 times. • Combines cost-based, benefit transfer, and spatial allocation methods. • Results aligned with SEEA-EA for natural capital accounting integration. • Highlights risks of using benefit transfer in valuation studies. Hunting provides both provisioning and cultural ecosystem services, yet its economic value remains underrepresented in natural capital accounting. This study presents the first comprehensive, national-level assessment of hunting-related ecosystem services in the Czech Republic. Using a combination of market price valuation, cost-based methods, adjusted benefit transfer, and spatial allocation, the analysis estimates the 2022 value of wild game meat and recreational hunting. Results show that recreational hunting generates CZK 9.33 billion (USD 677 million), while the value of game meat provision totals CZK 548 million (USD 39.7 million). The comparison of primary valuation and benefit transfer methods reveals substantial discrepancies, with transferred values overestimating provisioning services and underestimating recreational values. Values are spatially allocated to ecosystem types using CORINE land cover, making them compatible with the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA). The study presents an indicative methodological framework for valuing hunting-related ecosystem services and highlights the importance of context-specific data for informing natural capital accounting, and sustainable wildlife management.