María José Andrade-Núñez

Coastal Environment Class

Article structure • Introduction

Ojective: Illustrate the current state of identifying, assessing, and valuing the key ecosystem services of ECEs.

What is the current state of the progress in integrating knowledge about the “ecological production function” underlying each important ECE service with economic methods to value changes in this service in terms of impacts on human welfare?

Methods: Assessing ECE services and values Results: The key services and values of ECEs -Coral Reefs -Seagrass beds -Salt marshes -Mangroves -Sand beaches and dunes Discussion: Issues for future research Conclusion: Toward a management Action Plan

Introduction

• Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (http://www.maweb.org/en/index.aspx)

• TheMillennium Ecosystem Assessment, released in 2005, is an international synthesis by over 1000 of the world's leading biological scientists that analyzes the state of the Earth’s ecosystems and provides summaries and guidelines for decision-makers.

Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems - Goods (e.g. products obtain from ecosystems such as water, genetic material),

services (e.g. water purification, tourism), and cultural benefits (e.g. spirtitual benefits)

- The economic benefit provided by an enviromental good or service is the sum of

what all members of society would be willing to pay for it.

Key points: • Very few ECE services are marketed

• Existence of lot of unreliable valuation estimates

• Three steps to nonmarket valuation method:

A) ECOSYSTEM PROCESSESS, STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONS

B) ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

C) Human well being 3) ECONOMIC VALUATION of changes in C

1) Evaluate how Changes in A affect B

2) Evaluate how changes in B affect C

STEPS IN THE VALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES

Introduction

ECONOMIC VALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES

In the article the authors mention an existing debate about characterizing all ecosystems as end-products of nature.

• Is it better to define in detail the economic benefit of an ecosystem or it is better to have a broader idea of it?

• Why it is not possible to extrapolate local estimates of economic values of Ecosystem services to other places or globally?

FIRST TOPIC OF DISCUSSION

In the conclusion the authors recommend some actions to protect and/or enhance the ECE service:

1) More interdisciplinary studies (economists, ecologists, env. scientists)

2) Stop viewing destruction of ECEs as COSTLESS. Human activites in ECEs must be banned, monitored, and regulated.

3) Establish a institutional framework to allow ecosystem co-management by goverment and local communities.

4) Ecological restoration.

SECOND TOPIC OF DISCUSSION

How do you feel about these actions? Are they possible solutions? Does the authors give enough information about them?