MANAGING COASTAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN CATALONIA: JELLYFISH BLOOMS, WIND-FARMS, AND TOURISM

NUNES, P.A.L.D, LOUREIRO, M, PIÑOL, SASTRE, S, VOLTAIRE, L.

VECTORSVECTORS is a European Project (FP7) devoted to improving our understanding on how marine ecosystems and their goods and services provided by the oceans are changing. It also examines the socio-economic impacts as well as exploring measures to reduce and adapt to these changes

Case study: CataloniaOutbreaks: JellyfishEnergy: Wind-farms

in relation to flows of Tourism

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Frequency of News regarding Jellyfish Blooms in the main regional and national newspapers

LA VANGUARDIA (regional)ELPAIS (national)TOTAL

BIOPHYSICAL STRUCTURE OR

PROCESS

(E.G. VEGETATION

COVER OR NET PRIMARY

PRODUCTIVITY)

FUNCTION*

(E.G. SLOW WATER

PASSAGE, BIOMASS)

ECOSYSTEMS & BIODIVERSITY

SERVICE

(E.G. FLOOD- PROTECTION, PRODUCTS

BENEFIT(S)

(CONTRIBUTION TO HEALTH, SAFETY, ETC.) (ECON) VALUE

(E.G. WTP FOR PROTECTION OR

PRODUCTS

HUMAN WELL-BEING (SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT)

INSTITUTIONS & HUMAN JUDGEMENTS DETERMINING

(THE USE OF) SERVICES

MANAGEMENT/ RESTORATION FEEDBACK BETWEEN

VALUE PERCEPTION AND USE OF ECOSYSTEM

SERVICES

* SUBSET OF BIOPHYSICAL STRUCTURE OR PROCESS PROVIDING THE SERVICE

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: LINK BETWEEN ECOLOGICAL

STRUCTURES, PROCESSES & WELFARE

PROVISIONING SERVICES

The products obtained from ecosystems

Food provision:a, Wild capture sea food

b, Farmed sea food

Biotic raw materials (non-food):

a, Genetic resourcesb, Medicinal resources

c, Ornamental resourcesd, Other biotic raw

materials

Biotic raw materials:a, Sea water

b, Minerals, aggregates and fossil fuels

c, Energy

REGULATING SERVICES

The benefits from regulation of ecosystem

processes

Air purificationClimate regulation

Disturbance prevention or moderation

Regulation of water flows

Waste treatment and assimilation

Coastal erosion prevention

Biological control

HABITAT SERVICES

Role of ecosystems in providing space for

resident and migratory species

Reproduction and nursery service

Gene pool protection

CULTURAL SERVICES

Non-material benefits from ecosystems

Leisure, recreation & tourismAesthetic experience

Inspiration for culture, art and design

Cultural heritageCultural diversity

Spiritual experience

Information for Cognitive Development

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: LINK BETWEEN ECOLOGICAL

STRUCTURES, PROCESSES & WELFARE

VALUATION FRAMEWORK: TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUE

VALUATION FRAMEWORK: TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUE

BASED IN QUESTIONNAIRES

644 Questionnaires

Representing all different kind of beaches in Catalonia

Work days and Weekends

4 months

Previous Pilot study & Focus group for testing

CHOICE EXPERIMENT & CONTINGENT BEHAVIOUR BASED IN QUESTIONNAIRES

Nameof the beach Type of

Environment Width (m) Lenght (m) Surface (m²) Risk of Jellyfish*

(%) Blue Flag

Barceloneta Urban 40 600 24,000 7,07 Yes

De Bogatell Urban 32 625 18,676 12.96 Yes

De Sabanell Mixed 32 2380 75,921 0.75 Yes

De Blanes Urban 44 610 26,170 0.37 Yes

Gran de Palamòs Urban 55 990 48,650 9,52 No

De la Fosca Mixed 37 514 16,461 3,96 Yes

El Castell Natural 63 339 22,715 7,14 No

El Golfet Natural 17 75 1,277 5,58 No

CHOOSING THE BEACHES

CLOGITCLOGITCLOGITCLOGITVariable Coefficient Std. Err. P|z|>Z*Risk of Jellyfish -0.349 0.049 0.000Water 0.730 0.036 0.000Environment 0.409 0.038 0.000Nominal time 0.079 0.016 0.000Nominal time^2 -0.001 0.000 0.000

WTP for Clogit per quantiles of traveling timeWTP for Clogit per quantiles of traveling timeWTP for Clogit per quantiles of traveling timeWTP for Clogit per quantiles of traveling time

Risk

WaterEnvironment

First Quantile

Second quantile

Third quantile

Fourth quantile

3.74 min 3.25 min 2.13 min 0.59 min

7.84 min 6.81 min 4.46 min 1.24 min

4.39 min 3.82 min 2.50 min 0.69 min

Quantile TimeFirst quantile 5 minutesSecond quantile 10 minutesThird quantile 30 minutesFourth quantile 180 minutes

CONDITIONAL LOGIT MODEL

RESULTS (1) REDUCING RISK OFJELLYFISH ARRIVALS

The improvement of the water quality ranks as first and therefore it is interpreted as the most important factor when choosing the beach

The reduction of risk of jellyfish outbreaks ranks as important as the improvement of beach infrastructure, including the provision of parking lots, restrooms and libraries for the children.

RESULTS (1) REDUCING RISK OFJELLYFISH ARRIVALS

According to our sample results the average income per hour of our sample is €19.23

Consumers are willing to pay in average additional €1.22 to move from a beach with more than 5 days a week of outbreaks to another beach with risk of jellyfish outbreak reduced to one day or two per week

We infer that this estimate of willingness to pay to avoid jellyfish outbreaks goes up to €322 million/year.

This amount corresponds to 19% of the tourism expenditures of the Catalan population in 2012, and it expresses the significant welfare gains associated with a reduction of jellyfish outbreaks in this area.

RESULTS (2) WINDMILLS

There would be a negative impact of offshore windmills on recreation demand for the Catalan coast. However, the likely installation of offshore wind farms in some beaches would result in a displacement of trips to other beaches in Catalonia without wind farms rather than beaches outside Catalonia. Thus, considering Catalonia as a whole, the negative impact of the offshore wind farms project might be not significant

At equal distance from the coast, low windmills density is preferred to high windmills density, and, at equal windmills density, windmills installed far from the coast are preferred to those installed near the coast

POLICY PROPOSALS: INVESTMENT IN REAL TIME INFORMATION

Thank you!Barcelona, November 2013