December 2014: The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has released a brief on the outcomes of discussions on environmental valuation approaches in Indonesia. The discussions identified steps to improve coordination throughout the valuation process and to enhance the contribution of valuation to improved environmental governance.

Overall, the brief suggests five steps: defining objectives of the valuation process, selecting valuation methods, clarifying how outcomes will be used in legal proceedings, integrating political considerations, and anticipating broader implications.

Implementing these steps will, according to the brief, move perceptions of valuation processes away from a largely technical exercise towards a more holistic process addressing legal, political and scientific elements. This move will rely on better cooperation between agencies and the adoption of a more iterative process, notes the publication. CIFOR is part of the CGIAR Consortium. [Publication: Environmental Valuation in Indonesia: Implication for forest policy, legal liability, and state losses estimates]