Coastal Capital: Economic Valuation of Coastal Ecosystems in the Caribbean

Supporting the sustainable management of coral reefs and mangroves by quantifying their economic value.

New! Working Paper: Influence of Coastal Economic Valuations in the Caribbean: Enabling Conditions and Lessons Learned

The Coastal Capital series was launched in 2005 and aims to provide decision-makers in the Caribbean with information and tools that link the health of coastal ecosystems with the attainment of economic and social goals. WRI and its local partners have conducted economic valuation studies of coral reefs and mangroves at national and subnational levels in five countries: Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Belize, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. We are using the results to identify and build support for policies that help to ensure healthy coastal ecosystems and sustainable economies.

Building on these studies, WRI is now working with a broad partnership to develop a standardized framework for coastal ecosystem valuation in the Caribbean. This framework will be a guide to conducting coastal valuations using best practices, yielding comparable and credible valuation results that should be more likely to influence policy-making and improve the conservation and management of coastal ecosystems.