Authors from the Department of Human Dimensions of Global Change published a paper focused on economic valuation of ecosystem services in the Protected Landscape Areas (PLAs) in the Czech Republic. The study estimates that the total value of ecosystem services provided by 25 PLAs reached €51 billion ($63 billion) per year ― more than a quarter of the country’s GDP. Such values are not incorporated into the traditional economy, but nonetheless underpin economic processes on various levels.

The paper has also been noticed by the American news website Huffington Post in the article about establishing 5 new national parks and expanding three others in Chile, adding 10 million acres – an area almost as large as Switzerland – to its protected area system. The article includes quotes from the lead author of the paper J.Daněk and further elaborates the possible benefits of protected areas to society.