Assessing, quantifying and valuing the ecosystem services of coastal lagoons

The natural conservation of coastal lagoons is important not only for their ecological importance, but also because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide for human welfare and wellbeing. Coastal lagoons are shallow semi-enclosed systems that support important habitats such as wetlands, mangroves, salt-marshes and seagrass meadows, as well as a rich biodiversity. Coastal lagoons are also complex social-ecological systems with ecosystem services that provide livelihoods, wellbeing and welfare to humans. This study assessed, quantified and valued the ecosystem services of 32 coastal lagoons. The main findings of the study are: (i) the definitions of ecosystem services are still not generally accepted; (ii) the quantification of ecosystem services is made in many different ways, using different units; (iii) the evaluation in monetary terms of some ecosystem service is problematic, often relying on non-monetary evaluation methods; (iv) when ecosystem services are valued in monetary terms, this may represent very different human benefits; and, (v) different aspects of climate change, including increasing temperature, sea-level rise and changes in rainfall patterns threaten the valuable ecosystem services of coastal lagoons.DEVOTES project, from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration [308392]; networks and communities of Eurolag; Future Earth Coasts; SCOR; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) Investigador Programme [IF/00331/2013]; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia [UID/MAR/04292/2013]; CESAM by FCT/MEC national funds (PIDDAC) [UID/AMB/50017/2013 - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007638]; FEDER; European Commission, under the 7th Framework Programme through the collaborative research project LAGOONS [283157]; FCT [SFRH/BPD/107823/2015, SFRH/BPD/91494/2012

Valuation of aesthetic ecosystem services of protected coastal dunes and forests

This study was implemented in the context of the emerging concept of aesthetic ecosystem services (AES) of coastal protected dunes and forests. The main problem addressed was that many coastal management research case studies focusing on AES still rely on the objectivist paradigm, eliciting aesthetic values based on objective sets of criteria independent from human perception 'here and now'. This doesn't use the knowledge accrued from several decades of psychophysical studies in landscape aesthetics using photographs as visual stimuli, due to the complexity of the psychophysical approach. The study bridges this major research gap by eliciting the preferences for and the attractiveness of coastal landscapes that are founded in the landscape's physical attributes. An innovative 'quali-quantitative' methodology was applied, combining both quantitative (paired comparison survey) and qualitative (semi-structured in-depth interviews) methods for valuation and interpretation of coastal AES. The main aim of the study was to test a 'quali-quantitative' methodology for the valuation of AES of protected coastal dunes and forests, using the Curonian Spit (Lithuania) as a case study. The key finding of the quantitative survey was that domestic summer visitors found the open landscapes of the Curonian Spit most attractive, especially 1) White mobile dunes 2) White dunes with grey dunes in the background 3) Grey dunes with white dunes in the background. The main result of the qualitative survey was that local stakeholders living on the Curonian Spit consider the concept of visual coherence as best explaining the aesthetic appeal of the dune and forest landscapes on the spit. The main associated policy recommendation to coastal management policy-makers on the Curonian Spit, and in other protected coastal dune areas, is to pay more attention to AES along with the care for biodiversity conservation and for other tangible dune ecosystem services.Lithuanian Research Council [NKPDOKT15019]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The value of coastal lagoons: Case study of recreation at the Ria de Aveiro, Portugal in comparison to the Coorong, Australia

Coastal lagoons are some of the most inhabited and yet threatened ecosystems in the world. Cultural services in coastal lagoons are important for supporting human wellbeing and therefore their valuation is gaining recognition among decision makers responsible for managing development that affects these areas. This study is focused on the recreational aspect of cultural services employing two econometric methods revealed and stated preference – to estimate the non-market value of recreation at two coastal lagoons. This is part of an international and interdisciplinary study conducted by ecologists and economists. The same survey questionnaire, with minor adaptations, employing the same valuation methods, i.e. Travel Cost Method (TCM) and Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), were used at both the Coorong (Australia) and the Ria de Aveiro (Portugal). Results of the two surveys at the two sites revealed largely similar visitor profiles. The estimated values of Consumer Surplus obtained were 132€ and 160€ (per adult and per day) according to the TCM for the Australian and the Portuguese lagoons respectively, and 103€ and 110€, respectively with the CVM. These quantitative monetary estimates of non-market recreational visitor values represent part of the total value of these coastal lagoons and can be used directly as input for evaluations of alternative management options using Cost-Benefit Analysis. As such, the estimates fill part of what has previously been an information gap that has prevented a full accounting of the net benefit of alternative options. Now, with a more complete set of values, managers can better assess the extent to which financial resources should be allocated towards nature conservation vis à vis development.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio