Belize's Coastal Capital: The Economic Contribution of Belize's Coral Reefs and Mangroves

Richard Waite — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:24:20 -0500

Coastal and marine ecosystems provide vitally important goods and services to countries in the Caribbean. This study looks at only three out of the many culturally and economically valuable services provided by these ecosystems in Belize. Even within this narrowed scope, this study finds that the country’s coastal resources are extremely valuable. Belize’s coral reefs and mangrove-lined coasts provide critical protection against erosion and wave-induced damages from tropical storms; they have supported artisanal fishing communities for generations; and they stand at the center of vibrant tourism industry, drawing snorkelers, divers and sport fishermen from all over the world.

Coral reef- and mangrove-associated tourism contributed an estimated US$150 million to $196 million to the national economy in 2007 (12 percent to 15 percent of GDP). Fishing is an important cultural tradition, as well as a safety net and livelihood for many coastal Belizeans. Annual economic benefits from reef and mangrove dependent fisheries is estimated at between US$14–16 million. Reefs and mangroves also protect coastal properties from erosion and wave-induced damage, providing an estimated US$231 to US$347 million in avoided damages per year. By comparison, Belize’s GDP in 2007 was US$1.3 billion. These estimates capture only three of the many services provided by coral reefs and mangroves, and should not be considered the “total” value of these resources. These numbers should be regarded as a lower bound estimate.

Despite their importance, these benefits are frequently overlooked or underappreciated in coastal investment and policy decisions. Unchecked coastal development, overfishing, and pressures from tourism threaten the country’s reefs, with the additional threats of warming seas, fiercer storms, and other climate-related changes looming on the horizon. Fish populations, including commercially valuable sport-fishing species and colorful reef fish, will diminish if they lose the mangrove forests they rely upon as critical nursery habitats. Coastal properties will become increasingly vulnerable to storms and erosion, and reef-related tourism will suffer as reefs and mangroves decline.

Belize’s government, NGOs, and private sector have begun to recognize the importance of coastal ecosystems to the economy. Nevertheless, the amount currently invested in protecting Belize’s coral reefs and mangroves is very small when compared to the contribution of these resources to the national economy. The World Resources Institute (WRI), in collaboration with WWF Central America, assessed the economic contribution of these services at the national level and within individual Marine Protected Areas in Belize. For the full report and methodology, please visit the Economic Valuation of Coral Reefs in the Caribbean page.

Coastal Capital: Economic Valuation of Coral Reefs in Tobago and St. Lucia

Payson Schwin — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:49:06 -0400

Coral reefs provide many benefits, sometimes called ecosystem goods and services, which are of high value and critical importance to local and national economies in the Caribbean.

These values are frequently overlooked or underappreciated in coastal investment, development and policy decisions, resulting in short-sighted decisions that do not maximize the long-term economic potential of coastal areas.

This project focuses on development of a valuation methodology that will be broadly applicable in countries across the Caribbean, supporting wise, long-term coastal policy and management.

This report provides a comprehensive summary of the valuation methodology as well as valuation results from implementation in two pilot sites in the Eastern Caribbean (St. Lucia and Tobago). Shorter, island-specific summaries of results, along with an Excel-based Valuation Tool for implementing the methodology are available from www.wri.org/project/valuation-caribbean-reefs.

Estimating the economic benefits of coral reefs to local economies is neither easy nor straightforward, due to the range of approaches available and frequent limitations of underlying data. Many valuation methods exist, and results are rarely comparable.

A priority for this project has been the development of a simple, broadly applicable methodology to value coral reef goods and services, based predominantly on commonly available data. Use of a consistent approach should lead to more comparable estimates of value for different places and time periods. An easily replicable methodology can also be applied while varying key assumptions in order to assess the impacts of different development and management options.

This methodology does not assess Total Economic Value (TEV), but rather focuses on three key goods and services: coral reef-associated tourism, fisheries, and shoreline protection services. These goods and services were chosen because of their importance to local economies and because data are available to support estimation of these values.

The method was developed based on literature review, feedback from local partners and examination of coral reef use and data availability in two pilot locations (St. Lucia and Tobago).

The results from the economic valuation of coral reefs in St. Lucia and Tobago—sites with very different coastal management and data richness situations—are presented in this paper. Even assessing only a subset of goods and services demonstrates that the benefits provided by coral reefs are economically significant, particularly with respect to island GDP. These estimates should be viewed as lower bound (partial) estimates of the economic contribution of coral reefs to the economy of these two islands.

The economic impact of coral reef-associated tourism and recreation and fisheries is evaluated using a financial analysis method—tracking the financial flows generated by these two industries, and their wider impact on the economy. Shoreline protection services are evaluated using a modified avoided damages approach, where the value of a reduction in wave-induced erosion and property damage due to coral reefs is estimated.

The methodology, as well as the Valuation Tool, uses a tiered approach, allowing results to be calculated at different levels of detail depending upon the data available.

WRI Publications Feed: Economic Valuation of Coral Reefs in the Caribbean

Belize's Coastal Capital: The Economic Contribution of Belize's Coral Reefs and Mangroves

Coastal Capital: Economic Valuation of Coral Reefs in Tobago and St. Lucia