Here the tool can be used to assess and compare multiple alternative options and it may in particular help identify potential high provision areas. It can also account for variability in social preferences. Thus, the flexibility of the tool means that it may incorporate a whole range of locally generated data and is adapted to each country's administrative boundaries. The approach's empirical roots are variable depending on the ecosystem service - in the area of water a lot is derived from quiet broad surveys of academic literature, in other areas this is less true.