The Societal Value of Wetland Life-Support

Abstract

In this chapter I analyze the socie1al value of a Swedish wetland system with respect to the various economic functions such as cleansing nutrients and ponutants, maintaining the level and quality of the drinking water, processing sewage, serving as a filter to coastal waters, sustaining genetic diversity and preserving endangered species. The major part of such life-support functions have been lost, due to extensive exploitation. I evaluate the loss in terms of the reduced solar energy fiXing ability (Gross Primary Production, GPP) and the deterioration of the stored peat, and compare it to the cost of replacing these environmental functions with technical processes, estimated in monetary terms and industrial energy terms. Such substitutes include irrigation dams, water transportation, well-drilling, water purification, sewage treatment plants, fertili7ers, flSh farming, and efforts to save endangered species. I fmd that the undiscounted annual mone1ary replacement cost .m of the order 2.5 to 7 million Swed.mh crowns (US$0.4-1.1 million), and that the annual industrial energy cost between 15 a1Xl50 TJ approaches the annualla!s of GPP of 55 to 75 TJ, when both are expre&'led in units of the same energy quality (fossil fuel equivalents). The major part of the technical replacements concerns biogeochemical processes and the hydrological cycle. Not more than about 10 per cent are related directly to the biological part of the wedand system. The present biophysical anal}'SB serves ~m an indicator of the true lifesupport value of a wetland system, and is thus a useful complement to economic analys.m. It .m concluded that ecosystems perform a lot of valuable and necessary work at no cost, and that industrial technologies should be developed to supplement and enhance this support instead of having to replace it when it has already been destroyed 142 CarlFolke

Mapping wetland loss and restoration potential in Flanders (Belgium): an ecosystem service perspective.

“…Our results broadly concur with earlier valuation studies (e.g., Thibodeau and Ostro 1981, Batie and Shabman 1982, Farber 1987, Costanza et al 1989, Folke 1991, Gren et al 1994, Russi et al 2013) but especially highlight that valuation exercises should be broadened to include more than monetizeable benefits. First, not all ES are increasing, and societal trade-offs have to be made between benefits and losses of Flemish wetlands.…”

“…This ongoing loss and deterioration of European wetlands contrasts sharply with their well-known values for society, recognized decades ago (e.g., Thibodeau and Ostro 1981, Batie and Shabman 1982, Farber 1987, Costanza et al 1989, Folke 1991, Gren et al 1994. The TEEB-review study ("The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity") for water and wetlands (Russi et al 2013) clearly mentions the major ecosystem services provided: flood protection, water supply, water purification, carbon sequestration, climate regulation, production of raw materials and food, tourism and recreation, aesthetic and cultural values.…”

Value after the volcano: economic valuation of Montserrat’s Centre Hills

“…The increased cost was found to be approximately US$ 7.5m per year. Folke (1991) estimates the value of wetlands in maintaining both the quantity and quality of drinking water. The value of water quantity maintenance is estimated as the cost of water transport and piping water from distant sources.…”

Characteristics of Nested Living Systems

“…One example of the latter is the development of wetland ecosystems where biological subsystems modify hydrology that affect chemical and physical properties of the substrate, which in turn have a decisive effect on the ecological succession of the biological subsystem. The interactions of the parts change the total system organisation and by that causing new conditions for the parts to react, modify and evolve [21]. Holling [26] has argued that in ecosystem development there are prolonged periods of accumulation and production (build up of organisational exergy), and short periods of renewal and restructuring that are caused by endogenously generated new attractor states.…”