The Value of Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystem Services

EDWARD B. BARBIER, SALLY D. HACKER, CHRIS KENNEDY,

EVAMARIA W. KOCH, ADRIAN C. STIER, AND BRIAN R. SILLIMAN

Edward B. Barbier

Professor of Economics, Department of Economics and Finance, University of Wyoming.

He has over 25 years experience as an environmental and resource economist, working on natural resource and development issues as well as the interface between economics and ecology.

He has served as a consultant and policy analyst for a variety of national, international and non-governmental agencies, including many UN organizations and the World Bank.

Who is the author?

Main goal of this paper

1. To illustrate the current state of identifying, assessing, and valuing the key ecosystem services of Estuarine Coastal Ecosystems.

2. What is the current state of progress in integrating knowledge about the “Ecological production function”.

3. Economic valuation methods to value changes in services in terms of Impacts on human welfare.

Integrating knowledge

Coral reef

Sea Grass

Salt marshes

Mangrove

Sand Beaches Dunes

5 Critical Estuarine Coastal Ecosystems

Coral reefs

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Coral_reef_locations.jpg

http://en.bestpicturesof.com/gelatinous%20zooplankton

Raw materials (lime) Coastal protection

Maintenance of fisheries Nutrient cycling

Tourism, Recreation, Education, Research

Coral Reef Services

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of more than 2900 coral reefs and more than 900 individual islands

http://cool-travel-vacations.blogspot.com/2008/07/great-barrier-reef-spans-almost-350000.html

Northeast of Queensland, Australia, some 2 million tourists come to the Great Barrier Reef every year. In 2005, it was estimated that this tourism generated 5.1 Billion

Australian dollars, up from 4 Billion Australian dollars in 2003.

Lime

http://www.healthtotem.com/en/coral/c_safe.html http://imageshack.us/f/193/2321342412.png/

Coral Reef Stressors

Overfishing

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/gc2sec7labgroup3/over-fishing

Dynamite fishing

http://plaza.ufl.edu/bettie/coralreef.html

Sumatra Tsunami

http://www.enterprisemission.com/hyperquake.htm

Where dynamite fishing had occurred suffered 70% greater wave heights than undisturbed areas during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami (Fernando et al. 2005).

Cyanide Fishing

http://www.braaschphotography.com/pages/077.htm

Tropical islands disappearing as a result of coral mining and sea level rise

Indian Ocean’s Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve

http://theseamonster.net/2011/05/tropical-islands-disappearing-as-a-result-of-coral-mining/

Eutrophication

Baltic Sea

http://coastalchallenges.com/category/eutrophication/

underwater image is from the southern coast of Finland, photo (c) 2010 Erkki Siirila.

Finland

Gulf of Oman

The Gulf of Oman scientists found almost 500 square kilometers of coral reef simply overwhelmed a massive algae bloom. The researchers found that almost 95% of the coral under the surface of these blooms died rapidly under the foreign conditions.

http://electrictreehouse.com/aglae-blooms-are-killing-coral/

Coastal Development, dredging and sedimentation

An aerial view of the coastline along Hawaii Kai on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu where organic sediment is one of the major threat to the reef.

Photograph: Ed Darack/Corbis http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/02/coral-catastrophic-future

Biological Invasion In 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed an aquarium tank in Florida. About a half-

dozen spiny, venomous lionfish washed into the Atlantic Ocean…

Originally from the Pacific Ocean, the spiny, venomous lionfish can kill three-quarters of an Atlantic coral reef's fish population in just

five weeks (Hixon, 2005) http://www.worldzootoday.com/2009/08/11/spreading-lionfish-invasion-threatens-bahamas/

Bleaching

Seagrass Beads

Shallow marine estuarine habitats

Soft substrates (mud, sand, cobble)

~ 11% of surface light

Wave-sheltered conditions

http://www.seagrasswatch.org/seagrass.html

Seagrasses Services

Coastal protection

Erosion control

Water purification

Maintenance of fisheries

Carbon sequestration (~50% of carbon burial in the ocean)

Tourism, recreation, education and research

Australia Seagrass

Action http://www.seagrasswatch.org/training.html

Planning http://ian.umces.edu/bill/pdfs/seagrass_in_australia.pdf

Loss of 12,700 ha of seagrasses in Australia is associated with lost fishery production of AU$23, 000 (McArthur and Boland 2006)

Seagrass Stressors

1. Eutrophication

2. Overharvesting

3. Sediment runoff

4. Algal blooms

5. Commercial fisheries

6. Aquaculture practices

7. Vegetation disturbance

8. Global warming

Seaweed farming on seagrass beds at Bwejuu beach island of Zanzibar Tanzania http://www.photographersdirect.com/buyers/stockphoto.asp?imageid=1522468

Salt Marshes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_marsh

• Intertidal grasslands

• Low energy-wave protected shorelines

• Continental margins

• Sharp zonation of plants

• Low species diversity

• High primary and secondary production

Salt Marshes Services • Coastal protection • Erosion control • Water purification • Maintenance of fisheries • Carbon sequestration • Tourism, recreation, education, and research

http://saltmarshlife.com/salt-marsh/ecology.html

Longton Marsh Ribble Estuary England

Ribble Estuary on England’s west coast, annual net income from grazing in a salt marsh nature reserve is: ￡15.27/ha yr (King and Lester 1995).

Louisiana USA $785 to $15 000/acre year in savings

on wastewater treatment

http://comiteresources.net/wa_bernard.asp

Salt Marshes Stressors Biological invasions

Eutrophication

Climate change

Sea level rise

Increasing air and sea surface temperatures

Increasing CO2 concentrations

Altered hydrologic regimes

Marsh reclamation

Vegetation disturbance

Pollution

Oil contamination Louisiana Marshes

Grant to study effects of oil and dispersants on Louisiana salt marsh ecosystem: http://www.physorg.com/news201229977.html

The coast of Louisiana is lined with extensive salt marshes whose foundation is two species of Spartina grass. Credit: USGS

Mangroves

• Coastal Forests

• Saline tidal areas

• Sheltered bays, estuaries, and inlets

• Tropic and subtropics

• 50-75 woody species

• 1970=75% of coastlines

• 35% is lost

• Disappearing rate = 1-2% annually

Mangrove food web (Ecosystem processes and function)

http://www.mesa.edu.au/habitat/chall04.asp

Mangroves Services

1. Raw materials and food

2. Coastal protection

3. Erosion control

4. Water purification

5. Maintenance of fisheries

6. Carbon sequestration

7. Tourism, recreation, education and research

Mangrove Channel Cabo Rojo, P.R.

Mangrove Stressors

• Deforestation for aquaculture expansion 52% (Shrimp farms 38%)

• Industrial lumbrer and woodship

• Freshwater diversion

• Reclamation of land

• Herbicides

• Agriculture

• Salt ponds

Pondicherry, India Salt Pond: https://picasaweb.google.com/KolamTamilNadu2008/TamilNaduTourJanuary2009

Lumber and charcoal

Women harvesting mangrove wood in Cameroon. Photo courtesy of Feka and Manzano (2008).

Singapoore de-barked logs for carcoal production. http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-is-

charcoal-made-from-mangroves.html

Mangroves in Thailand

Many of the coastal provinces in Thailand have mangrove forests. However, the number of mangroves over the last 30 years or so have decreased greatly. In 1961 there were 909,346 acres of mangrove forests. By 2002 this number had reduced to only 593,052 acres. This is mainly due to urbanization, agriculture and aquaculture. In Samut Prakan, many mangroves were destroyed to make room for shrimp farms, factories and housing estates.

http://www.thai-blogs.com/2009/08/10/mangrove-reforestation-in-samut-prakan/

Sand Beaches and Dunes

Low-lying coastal margins

Sand transported by ocean waves

Vegetation

Dynamic geomorphic

structures

Marine and terrestrial components

Cover roughly 34% of the worlds ice-free coastlines.

Dunes of Isabela, Puerto Rico

Sand Beaches and Dunes Services

1. Raw materials 2. Coastal protection 3. Erosion control 4. Water catchment and

purification 5. Maintenance of wildlife 6. Carbon sequestration 7. Tourism, recreation,

education and research

Meijendel dunes in The Netherlands http://www.boerhaavextern.nl/SPNHC2009/LightNEasy.php?page=Fieldtrips

The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park has 8 inter-linking ecosystems and is considered the most definitive Eco-tourist experience. The vegetated coastal dunes are estimated to be 25 000 years old and are the highest dune forests (exceeding 180 m in height) in the World. There are 36 snake species, 80 dragonfly species, 526 bird species, 110 butterfly species; 114 species of fish….

http://www.lidikolodge.co.za/wb/pages/home/the-greater-st-lucia-wetland-park.php

Sand Beaches and Dunes Stressors

Mining Human use

Species invasions Climate change

http://www.jstor.org/pss/25098214

Coastal Dune Mining Maphelane Dunes , South Africa

(Photo. Paul Dutton) http://www.satsa.com/Downloads/ZWF%203rd%20Appeal%20Ref%202811%20B.htm

One regular summer day at beach in Haeundae Beach South Korea

Conclusion Toward a management action plan

• More interdisciplinary studies (sea grass beads and sand dunes have not been assessed properly)

• Destruction of these ECEs can no longer be viewed as costless

• In many developing countries, local government should involve co-management

• Encourage ecological restoration

Conclusion Toward a management action plan

• Time and space variability

• Interconnection (single “seascape”)

• Rate of degradation + human drivers

• Monetary value vs. survival (infinite value)

Why should we put monetary value to coastal estuarine ecosystems? Can we consider a good approach to set an infinite monetary value and focus on restoration and sustainable management?

FAO thematic paper: The role of coastal forests and trees in protecting against coastal erosion

http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ag127e/AG127E09.htm