An ex ante ecological economic assessment of the benefits arising from marine protected areas designation in the UK

Hussain, Salman; Winrow-Giffin, Alexandra; Moran, Dominic; Robinson, Leonie A.; Fofana, Abdulai; Paramor, Odette; Frid, Chris

doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2009.10.007

Cited by 35 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The traits were deemed to be associated with ecological functions (Frid et al, 2008), and the ecological functions in turn were deemed to (Hussain et al, 2010). For example, ecological processes that contribute to sediment turnover are assumed to underpin organic matter breakdown and nutrient regeneration.…”

Section: Biological Traits and Ecosystem Functioningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is long-term ecological functioning stable: The case of the marine benthos?

Frid

Caswell

2015

Journal of Sea Research

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It is widely acknowledged that human activities are contributing to substantial biodiversity loss and that this threatens ecological processes underpinning human exploitation of 'ecosystem services' (defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment as 'the benefits people obtain from ecosystems'). In the present study we consider three 'intermediate ecosystem services' in both contemporary and ancient marine systems and although 'ecosystem services' per se did not exist in the Jurassic our study seeks to consider the future provision of these services and so the term is retained. We consider the temporal patterns in benthic marine ecosystems:(1) spanning four decades at two offshore stations in the North Sea, UK and (2) over millennial scales in Late Jurassic UK palaeocommunities. Biological traits analysis is used to link changes in taxonomic composition to variations in ecological functioning and the potential supply of three 'intermediate' ecosystem services: the ability to provide food to fish and other predators, benthic nutrient regeneration and carbon cycling. We examine whether changes in taxonomic composition drive temporal variation in functioning, whether this variation increases over time and the extent to which species turnover is comparable in contemporary and ancient systems. Taxonomic variability was of a similar magnitude in all three systems and there was evidence for changes in functioning linked to changes in several (key or rivet) taxa. During other periods resilience maintained functioning in the face of taxonomic change. These results suggest that in these benthic systems the Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning relationship is idiosyncratic, but a degree of temporal stability in functioning is maintained such that the ecosystem services they underpin would also be stable during decadal and longer-term changes.

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Section: Biological Traits and Ecosystem Functioningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is long-term ecological functioning stable: The case of the marine benthos?

Frid

Caswell

2015

Journal of Sea Research

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“…Methods such as choice experiments help build a picture of the economic values of protecting and enhancing ecosystem services, thus contributing to the evidence base for better management of marine resources, and for improved policy-making and regulation [5,6]. For example, environmental valuation methods allow the quantification of the benefits of policies such as the EU Bathing Waters Directive, which can then be compared with the costs of implementing a policy in order to judge the overall social efficiency of new regulation and the desirability and targeting of ''derogations'' from uniform targets [7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Valuing improvements to coastal waters using choice experiments: An application to revisions of the EU Bathing Waters Directive

2013

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a b s t r a c tPlanned changes to the European Union's Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7EC) will force member states to produce improvements in a number of parameters of coastal water quality. This study uses the choice experiment method to estimate the economic benefits attached to such improvements, based on a sample of recreationalists on beaches in Ireland. The analysis indicates that improvements in all of the bathing water related attributes studied result in positive willingness to pay, and also show evidence of scope effects. Using random parameters and latent class modelling techniques, potential heterogeneity in preferences is then investigated and shown to be present to a significant degree. One observable determinant of this preference heterogeneity is the degree of exposure of individuals to health risks relating to water quality, as proxied by the type of recreational activity they undertake.

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“…The UK Acts have resulted in a substantial amount of economic analysis associated with their implementation. An initial study of the economic benefits of alternative plans for site designation was called for as the Bill went through its parliamentary procedures, and was completed using benefits transfer (Hussain et al, 2010). This study produced figures of between £10-£23 billion in present value terms for a network of sites, with by far the biggest single benefit being for enhanced greenhouse gas mitigation.…”

Section: Designation Of Marine Protected Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%