The Evolution of Non-Market Valuation of U.S. Coastal and Marine Resources

Abstract

The findings and conclusions of this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. AbstractAt the federal level, particularly within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), regulatory and programmatic needs have driven the continued development and application of non-market valuation approaches to marine and coastal resources. The evolution of these valuation approaches not only entails adopting the recommendations of the 1993 NOAA blue ribbon panel on contingent valuation, but also an expansion of stated preference approaches with increased use of stated preference choice experiments. Revealed preference approaches have also advanced with more sophisticated random utility models. We provide an overview of this evolution in the areas of natural resources damage assessment, protected resources, recreational fisheries, and coastal management. With the broad adoption of an ecosystem services approach to marine and coastal resource management, the demand for valuation of ecosystem services has grown and will continue to provide the impetus for more studies similar to those presented. Similar to what occurred initially as a result of the blue ribbon study, greater adoption of valuation estimates, particularly for non-use value, may be facilitated by guidance and standards from a high-level or highly respected authority. La evolución de la valoración no basada en el mercado de recursos marinos y costeros de Estados UnidosLea el abstracto en español 请点击此处阅读中文摘要 请点击此处阅读中文摘要

Economic Valuation of Marine and Coastal Ecosystems: Is it currently fit for purpose?

“…The purpose of this paper is to examine whether economists are in a position to deliver such evidence for use in policy analysis, in terms of the conceptual basis of valuation, the availability of the scientific evidence that is required to implement valuation methods, and existing evidence on economic values. The focus of the paper is the European policy arena, but most of the issues discussed apply equally to other locations (for a USA perspective, see Pendleton et al, 2007 andLipton et al 2014). Whilst many different methods of environmental valuation can be used to estimate the non-market benefits or costs of changes in ecosystem condition, the focus of this paper is on stated preference approaches, although we do consider the extent to which alternative approaches can solve the apparent difficulties by applying stated preference methods in each of the case studies.…”

The Elusive Quest for Valuation of Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Services

“…The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska in 1989 and the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 triggered a number of economic valuation studies focused on the impacted coastal and marine ecosystems. Most of these studies, however, relied on benefit transfers from other studies and focused mostly on provisioning services such as recreation [45]. If new research was conducted, it also focused on recreational activities, e.g., [46].…”

“…If new research was conducted, it also focused on recreational activities, e.g., [46]. When a broad array of CME services was addressed, the analysis typically used a replacement cost approach, habitat equivalency analysis, so the results were not applicable for other areas beyond the damage zone [45]. Another focus area has been the use of valuation for coastal management decisions, particularly related to establishment of marine protected areas such as the National Marine Sanctuaries, or broadly on the value of specific ecosystems such as coral reefs or beaches.…”

“…Another focus area has been the use of valuation for coastal management decisions, particularly related to establishment of marine protected areas such as the National Marine Sanctuaries, or broadly on the value of specific ecosystems such as coral reefs or beaches. However, it has been noted that, "The variability in context, methodology, and approach in these studies do not allow for aggregation and make comparability of these resulting value estimates difficult" [45].…”

So you want your research to be relevant? Building the bridge between ecosystem services research and practice

“…Practitioners in both the public and private sectors are motivated to incorporate the value of ecosystem services in decisions affecting issues such as land management (e.g., Bateman et al, 2013;Johnston et al, 2014;Lawler et al, 2014;Ouyang et al, 2016;National Ecosystem Services Partnership, 2016), pollution control (TEEB, 2012), natural resource supply (Reddy et al, 2015), rural/agricultural policy (Ribaudo et al, 2010;Bauer and Johnston, 2013), and coastal/marine management (Holland et al, 2010;Barbier et al, 2011;Lipton et al, 2014), but often lack the capacity to do so. This focus has led to a growing demand for applicable tools to assess the impacts of decisions on ecosystem services and human benefits (PCAST, 2011).…”