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Applying Knowledge 4. Economic Valuation Mangrove and other coastal ecosystems should be seen as economic and livelihood assets that can generate sustainable flows of benefits year after year. Economic valuation is important because it enables monetary comparisons between maintaining coastal ecosystems and using them for other purposes and thus evaluate whether tradeoffs that bias investment are sound options. In short, you need to value in order to evaluate. There is growing interest and recognition in promoting investment in ecosystems as an economic and livelihood part of development assets. This is largely a result of increased awareness of the economic values of a wide range of products and services that they yield. More specifically, investment in the conservation and management of mangroves (and other ecosystems) is increasingly being seen as a key element of sustainable livelihoods and economies, risk reduction and disaster management. Such investments would make people better off and more secure over time. Most people are well aware of the role that resource-based industries such as fisheries and tourism play in coastal economies. However, there is less comprehension of just how important these goods and raw materials are in terms of their multiplier effects at local and national levels in terms of their contribution to the national economy, or their role in local livelihoods and poverty alleviation. More data and an increase in awareness of the economic value of coastal ecosystem services such as safeguarding coastal production and consumption, reducing vulnerability, and strengthening resilience is needed. The information on ecosystem valuation is fairly academic, and its findings often do not reach conservation and development decision-makers and planners. Environmental economists now place greater reliance on rapid assessments to valuation, which are credible, practical and policy-relevant. Undervaluation of coastal ecosystems means that both ecosystems tend to be marginalised in mainstream coastal zone economic and development decision-making leading to activities which degrade, convert and deplete ecosystems. Project and programme appraisals also need to factor in ecosystem and environmental impacts. At the same time, undervaluation means that coastal conservation initiatives frequently fail to develop approaches which are economically sustainable, or tackle the direct and underlying economic causes of ecosystem degradation. It also constrains the identification and development of financial and economic incentives for coastal conservation, and the integration of livelihood and ecosystem goals and approaches, hence, undervaluation undermines sustainable coastal zone development. Under this programme of work, MFF seeks to improve the information base on the economic value of coastal ecosystem services, and to make efforts to ensure that these values are routinely incorporated into development planning, economic indicators and statistics, and investment and project appraisals. MFF further promotes the use of valuation to identify needs and opportunities for capturing ecosystem benefits sustainably in conservation efforts such as through value-added and income-generating activities is also a priority. This programme of work carries out actions to generate the following outputs:
The actions carried out under this programme of work contribute towards the following MFF results:
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