Bluffstone, Randall

Panayotou, Theodore

English

Research Papers in Economics

Marine Resource Economics, Volume 9, pp. 187-188 0738-1360/94 $3.00 + .00
Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1994 Marine Resources Foundation
Book Review
Resources and Environment in Asia's Marine Sector edited by James B.
Marsh.
Reviewed by Randall BlufFstone and Theodore Panayotou
Harvard Institute for International Development
Harvard University
Though it may not be immediately obvious to those not involved with marine
issues on a regular basis, oceans and the products and services they provide are
typically front and center on the policy agendas of policy makers worldwide. For
example, when issues of energy policy are considered one must of course include
the effects of oil embargoes and other shipping disruptions where ocean move-
ments of petroleum are used as policy instruments to keep oil off world markets.
This realization raises interesting questions for academicians regarding the value
of shipping lanes to various communities under differing conditions.
In examinations of poverty we quite quickly turn to issues of food and incomes
policy, and particularly in Asia, ocean accessibility and quality are important
factors to consider in thinking about poor peoples' access to incomes and food. As
an example, ocean-based tourism is of increasing importance in Asia and because
it is a labor-intensive industry plays an important role in jobs creation; promotion
of eco-tourism is also becoming an important instrument to preserve ecosystems
while at the same time generating income streams for local people.
Fisheries management policy perhaps presents the most visible and contro-
versial set of issues with regard to oceans, particularly in an era of widespread
implementation of 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and use of oceans
as pollution sinks for non-fisheries activities. Such issues take on special poi-
gnancy in Asia because of the importance of artisanal flshing to often relatively
poor groups.
All these issues and more have been tackled from a variety of angles in this
volume edited by James Barney Marsh. The book includes the work of 48 authors
who presented their research at a 1988 conference held at the National Sun Yat-
Sen University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The book covers such a wide variety of
policy topics associated with the management of ocean resources that there is
truly something for everyone in it.
The book begins with eight chapters which overview and then explore several
policy topics in Paciflc fisheries. Of particular interest is a chapter by Parzival
Copes which examines issues of tuna flshery management in Paciflc Island na-
tions. The point is well made that the highly migratory nature of the tuna flshery
makes management difficult, but intemational cooperation is also particularly
desirable in this region because resource-rich Pacific island nations typically do
not have the capital resources to fully exploit their tuna fisheries. Copes makes
clear that there exists a truly multi-dimensional policy problem and an accompa-
nying interesting set of research questions.
187188 Book Review
The third and fourth sections of the book focus on coastal aquaculture and
marine ranching in Thailand, Taiwan and Japan, and marine mineral development
in China Sea. With some exceptions these chapters are more technical than other
parts of the volume, and focus on the status of these activities rather than the
policies associated with them.
The problem with these chapters for the economist is that it is often not clear
how economic analysis in the sense of a serious consideration of alternative
resource allocation decisions fits into their discussion of the issues. At times it
almost seems that economics is used primarily as a type of policy backdrop to
allow the authors an opportunity for descriptive discussions of the resources
themselves or of technical points of resource management.
When true economic analysis is presented, one wonders if the authors have
really considered the fundamental concept of opportunity cost. For example, in
the chapter focusing on aquaculture in Taiwan the first recommendation is to
ensure a sufficient and steady supply offish and prawn seedlings. One is left to
assume that the authors mean the public sector should do this, but there is no
mention of any type of costs. Similarly, in the chapter on the Thailand case the
authors take as virtually axiomatic that coastal aquaculture should be expanded,
and they therefore only consider the technical matter of how such a goal can be
achieved.
The fifth section focuses on shipping and sea-lanes. Of particular interest is an
analysis of the value of the Malacca Strait to the region by Morisugi, Marsh and
Miyatake which suggests that the present value of the shipping cost advantage
provided by the strait during the period 1966-85 was over $80 billion. Unfortu-
nately, they then simply assume that past growth rates will continue during the
next twenty years and forecast the present value ofthe strait; not surprisingly they
arrive at very high estimates. Nevertheless, the chapter provides an interesting,
detailed and thoughtful valuation exercise.
The final set of chapters focus on issues of marine pollution. In one of these
chapters eight authors present six case studies from the Asian region which dis-
cuss some of the tradeoffs between tourism based on island, reef and strait and
bay resources and the use of these ecosystems as pollution sinks. For example,
the authors aptly phrase the issue for Phuket, Thailand as "Tin versus Tan." The
chapter describes and discusses the tradeoffs in detail, and while it is not highly
analytical provides an excellent overview of the major topics.
The book is particularly strong on presentation of facts and statistics, and
therefore for someone with an in-depth knowledge of the subject matter it is a
valuable addition. There are typically solid discussions which motivate the rele-
vant issues, but authors often do not take the step to analyze the facts or data. A
negative feature of the book is a repeated, though perhaps not universal, lack of
real economic analysis; at several points a careful reading reveals economic anal-
ysis which can only be described as weak.
In general, while many economists may flnd the book too fact-filled and the-
ory-free. Resources and Environment in Asia's Marine Sector provides a rich
resource, particularly for those wishing to expand their existing base of factual
knowledge. The book compiles an enormous amount of factual research into one
volume, and for this alone the authors and editor deserve to be commended.

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