Niels Jobstvogt

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

In Europe, as in many other parts of the world, an increasing number of coastal and marine policies require or encourage the use of environmental valuation and cost-benefit analysis. This means that policy-makers and regulators are placing increasing demands on economists to supply such values for use in policy analysis and management. There has also been a growing emphasis on basing environmental management and policy analysis on the ecosystem services approach (Fisher et al, 2008; UK NEA, 2011; Keeler et al, 2012). The consequence of this is a parallel requirement to link ecosystem function and service flows to environmental valuation. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether ec onomists are in a position to deliversuch 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 the existing data base of economic values. The focus of the paper is on the European policy arena, but most of the issues discussed apply equally to other locations. We approach the question in three ways. First, by reviewing existing European legislative drivers for increased use of valuation in coastal and marine policy; second, by reviewing the existing body of evidence on ecosystem and biodiversity values related to the coastal and marine environment in the EU and third, by considering whether both the economic valuation framework itself, and the scientific evidence required for its implementation, is “fit for purpose” and capable of meeting the needs of regulators.

How Can We Identify and Communicate the Ecological Value of Deep-Sea Ecosystem Services?

Submarine canyons are considered biodiversity hotspots which have been identified for their important roles in connecting the deep sea with shallower waters. To date, a huge gap exists between the high importance that scientists associate with deep-sea ecosystem services and the communication of this knowledge to decision makers and to the wider public, who remain largely ignorant of the importance of these services. The connectivity and complexity of marine ecosystems makes knowledge transfer very challenging, and new communication tools are necessary to increase understanding of ecological values beyond the science community. We show how the Ecosystem Principles Approach, a method that explains the importance of ocean processes via easily understandable ecological principles, might overcome this challenge for deep-sea ecosystem services. Scientists were asked to help develop a list of clear and concise ecosystem principles for the functioning of submarine canyons through a Delphi process to facilitate future transfers of ecological knowledge. These ecosystem principles describe ecosystem processes, link such processes to ecosystem services, and provide spatial and temporal information on the connectivity between deep and shallow waters. They also elucidate unique characteristics of submarine canyons. Our Ecosystem Principles Approach was successful in integrating ecological information into the ecosystem services assessment process. It therefore has a high potential to be the next step towards a wider implementation of ecological values in marine planning. We believe that successful communication of ecological knowledge is the key to a wider public support for ocean conservation, and that this endeavour has to be driven by scientists in their own interest as major deep-sea stakeholders.