The mounting evidence that estuarine and coastal ecosystems (ECEs) have a significant wave attenuation function has led to interest in valuing their storm protection benefit. But despite the importance of this coastal protection service, there are still not many economic studies that have estimated a value for it and geographic coverage is still thin. Some studies have used benefit transfer and replacement cost methods of valuation in an ad hoc manner, which undermines the reliability of the value estimates. This has, in turn, undermined confidence in these estimates. For example, a survey of US Environmental Protection Agency wetland regulators revealed that that they rarely used monetary estimates of wetland values in their environmental decision making. The survey respondents cited uncertainty about the scientific validity of estimates and subsequent concerns about the scientific and legal defensibility of estimate use as key reasons for ignoring wetland values.
However, more reliable economic estimates of the protective value of mangrove and marsh systems are emerging. The purpose of this oral presentation is to examine, from an economic perspective, the issues and challenges surrounding measuring the protective benefits from ecosystem restoration, as exemplified by some of the recent valuation studies.
Results/Conclusions
Most studies that estimate the value of the storm protection service of estuarine and coastal ecosystems have attempted some measure of the likely reduction in property and other asset damages, or at least in the costs of protecting these assets through some other means. To date, most studies of the protective benefit of ECEs do not estimate any resulting impacts on either the disutility from risk aversion or the risk of possible injury, illness or death if the storm surge happens. Some ex-post valuations have documented the role of ECEs, notably mangroves, in reducing storm-related deaths.