A hybrid approach for an economic valuation of marine and coastal ecosystem services 2nd Meeting of the Expert Group on Marine Research Infrastructure

A hybrid approach for an economic valuation of marine and coastal ecosystem services

2nd Meeting of the Expert Group on Marine Research Infrastructure European Commission, Brussels, 4 May 2010

Paulo A.L.D. Nunes

University of Venice and Eni Enrico Mattei Foundation, Italy

Managing oceans for human well-being

GLOBAL VALUES OF COASTAL RECREATION2

Setting the scene

To develop a (1) systematic, (2) worldwide-based, (3) socio-

economic valuation framework that allows to elicit ecosytems values

provided by marine and coastal ecosystems;

To implement a socio-economic model by exploring meta-analytical

quantitative tool box in combination with GIS techniques

Objective: (1) scale up ecosytem services values and (2) map

globally the recreation values of coastal ecosystems;

Follow-up: to assess, the potential impact of climate change on the

estimated values, and respective distributional trends.

Overview


1. Setting the scene: people depend on oceans


Valuing Ecosystem Services (TEEB Report, page 33)


1. Setting the scene: research consortium

SAMS, European Invesment Bank

University of West Indies

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama

University of Vermont, US

IUCN

UNEP - WCMC


Establishing a scenario analysis (TEEB Report, page 34)


2. Valuation framework: A hybrid approach of economic valuation

Valuing coastalecosystem goods

and services

Market priced benefits

Un-priced benefits

(non-market)

Wood Forest Products (WFPs)

Climate Regulation(i.e. stocked

carbon in forest)

Recreation Passive use values (e.g. existence value)


2. Valuation framework: A hybrid approach of economic valuation

Valuing coastalecosystem goods

and services

Market priced benefits

Un-priced benefits

(non-market)

Fisheries/Tourism Climate RegulationCoastal Protection

Recreation Passive use values (e.g. existence value)

Provisioning services

Regulatingservices

Culturalservices

Market priceanalysis

Avoided damage costs

Revelead and statedpreference methods

Meta analysis and Value transfer


3. Worldwide dataset on valuation studies of recreation in coastal areas

WTP for recreation and passive use in US Atlantic Coast and Caribbean

(US$ 2003 / person year)

0 - 50

50 - 100

100 - 200

200 - 400

400 - 700

700 - 1,000

1,000 - 1,500

1,500 - 2,200

2,200 - 3,300

3,300 - 6,500

0 500 1,000250 Km

Global overview of primary valuation data

590 observations

153 studies

33 countries


4. Methodology: meta-analysis of non-market valuations

Valuation study variables (Xs)

Valuation method(stated, revealed preference)

Welfare measure(Marshallian CS, equivalent variation, compensating variation)

Year of primary data

iCiCWiWSiSi uXbXbXbay )ln(

yi = unit value of coastal zones for recreational activities, standardized to 2003 $/ha/year (PPP)







Site variables (XW)

Ecosystem size

Ecosystem type(coral reef, beach, other)

Ecosystem service(fishing, non-extractive)

Protection level(protected area, no protection)








Site variables (XW)

Ecosystem size

Ecosystem type(coral reef, beach, other)

Ecosystem service(fishing, non-extractive)

Protection level(protected area, no protection)

Context variables (XC)

GDP per capita(at countrylevel)

Population density(georeferenced)

Marine biodiversity index(Shannon index: georeferenced)

Anthropogenic pressure(nutrient concentration: georeferenced)

Human development index(low, medium, high: georeferenced)

Accessibility(travel time to nearest city: georeferenced)



5. GIS-based characterization of valued sites and context

0 250 500125 Km

Great Barrier Reef (6,000 km)

Fitzroy estuary (150 km)

Fraser island (300 km)

Mooloolaba beach (4 km)

Mooloolaba beach

0 10 205 Km

20 K

m

• Shapefiles of the valued

sites (polylines) were constructed in ArcGIS

• The value of the context variables was estimated in a 20 Km buffer around each shapefile


6. Interpretation of econometric results

• Coral reefs and sandy beaches provide the highest recreational values.

• Income effects and proximity to the market of potential visitors significantly affect values.

• A high level of anthropogenic pressure and scarce accessibility have a negative impact.

• Sites with high marine biodiversity and low level of human development are valued highly.


6. Benefit transfer and scaling up: A global map of coastal recreation values


Legend

Recreational valueUS$ / ha year (ln)

High : 9.56

Low : -5.89

0 500 1,000250 Km

6. Benefit transfer and scaling up: A global map of coastal recreation values


7. Discussion of value transfer results

• High values in Mediterranean Europe, UK, California, Florida and US East Coast determined by high accessibility, population density and income effects and despite high development and pressure.

• Similarly, high population density in various areas in India and China positively influence values despite the high anthropogenic pressure.

• Scarce accessibility and low population density along most of the Australian and South American coast result in relatively low values.


8. Key messages and recommendations

• Non-market values of coastal recreation are substantial and should be

taken into account in policy decision for the development or

preservation of coastal habitats & environment damage assessments.

• Recreation values are highly dependent upon a number of contextual

variables including level of development of a certain region,

accessibility to the site, population density, biodiversity richness, and

level of integrity of the ecosystem.

• This implies that from the perspective of recreation values, habitat

conservation may focus on areas which are of high ecological values

(e.g., rich in biodiversity) but low economic values because located in

remote areas with low accessibility.


9. Contacts

[email protected]

and thank you for your attention.


Governance is key to managing oceans

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A hybrid approach for an economic valuation of marine and coastal ecosystem services 2nd Meeting of the Expert Group on Marine Research Infrastructure