Three key services provided by coral reefs and mangroves in Belize are worth an estimated US$395 million to US$559 million per year, according to a report released today by the World Resources Institute and the World Wildlife Fund.
Annual Economic Contribution of Coral Reefs and Mangroves in Belize
The World Resources Institute (WRI) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a collaboration to deliver improved science and practical tools to help companies and governments protect ecosystems and address climate change.
Direct annual economic benefits of tourism and fisheries resulting from coral reefs amounts to US$94 million in St. Lucia and US$44 million in Tobago. Those numbers amount to 11 percent and 15 percent of those Caribbean islands’ yearly gross-domestic product.
Coral reefs are a vital part of the Caribbean’s marine environment, and are integral to the economies of many of the region’s small island states. WRI’s economic valuation methodology can help decision-makers in the region better understand the enormous economic value the reef provides and use this data to make better-informed coastal policy.
My team at WRI, together with Dr. Bob Diaz at the Virginia Marine Institute, has identified and mapped 415 eutrophic and hypoxic coastal systems worldwide through an extensive literature review. Of these, 169 are documented hypoxic areas, 233 are areas of concern and 13 are systems in recovery.
A new study of land use helps farmers in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico reduce their damage to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the Western Hemisphere’s largest coral reef.
