Including biological diversity in natural capital accounts for marine biodiversity conservation and human well-being

Abstract

Natural capital (NC) accounts measure and value the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. Marine biodiversity supports human well-being directly by providing a source of food (e.g. wild fish), and indirectly by providing employment (e.g. fisheries, and tourism) and recreation (e.g. diving). The inclusion of the marine environment in NC accounting is relatively new. Central to the NC framework, biodiversity is one of the most challenging aspects to account for. Here, we consider the potential for marine biodiversity to be included in NC accounts, and explain why this is in line with current policy directions towards achieving sustainability and well-being. We present a set of potential indicators that could be used to assess ecosystem extent and ecosystem condition through their biodiversity, and inform policies aimed to improve sustainability and human well-being. We conclude that including biological indicators in NC accounts will help to consider marine biodiversity conservation and economic activities in blue spaces as complementary components of well-being. NC accounts can facilitate decision-making by showing, in few interconnected tables, trends in the provision of biodiversity in a specific area and for specific ecosystems. This makes potential trade-offs between ecosystems, ecosystem services, and economic activities more apparent.

Innovative and practical tools for monitoring and assessing biodiversity status and impacts of multiple human pressures in marine systems

“…The interdisciplinary nature of environmental economics and of natural capital approaches enable the decision maker to gather both ecological and economic information (Bagstad et al, 2021). Natural capital accounting, although requiring a more restricted set of economic rules, can provide comprehensive time-series monitoring of marine biodiversity and natural resources within a country's national waters while scrutinizing any increment or decrement in their economic value and contribution to economic activities (Luisetti and Schratzberger, 2023). Environmental valuation techniques encompass a wider set of options to value the marine natural resources compared to natural capital accounting (Bartkowski et al, 2015).…”

Salary Satisfaction of Employees at Workplace on a Large Area of Planted Land

“…Plant biodiversity in green spaces likewise affect subjective well-being [23,24]. Species diversity in blue spaces was also reported by perceived stress reduction [25,26]. The current methodology for assessing plant diversity in urban GBSs includes in situ investigation [27], evaluation from a tree inventory [28], and a literature review [24].…”