Lacle, F.A.

Governments around the world are taking an interest in the measurement of well-being to improve their policy decisions. Aruba has started the process of implementing and localizing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in order to measure progress that contributes to overall well-being of its citizens. One of the main pillars of Aruba’s economy is the tourism industry since it provides the main source of employment and income to many citizens on the island. The island is currently home to approximately 115,000 residents and more than 1.6 million tourists visit the island every year (CBS). The total contribution of the tourism industry (including wider effects from investment, supply chain and induced income impacts) was US$ 2,434.5 million in 2016, which accounted for 88.1% of Aruba’s GDP (WTTC, 2017). But even more important, the total contribution of the tourism industry to employment in 2016 was 89.3% of the total employment on Aruba. Most tourists on Aruba visit the island for its beaches and the marine environment, so the perceived quality of the tourist experience and the return rate to the island depend on the quality of the natural environment. Stated differently; the local economy including the employment of many citizens working in the travel and tourism industry on the island strongly depends on the quality of Aruba’s nature. This report determines the monetary value of the natural environment, the Natural Capital, relevant for the tourism industry on Aruba using the market price method within the environmental economics approach.

Touristic expenditures and ecosystems dependency ratios are obtained by conducting a tourist exit survey (n=584). Not all tourist expenditures and activities are for 100% attributable to an ecosystem. There is a distinction between tourist expenditures that are partly attributable to ecosystems (e.g. accommodation) and tourist expenditures that are fully attributable to ecosystems (e.g. diving); the ecosystem dependency ratio accounts for this difference. The total value of tourist expenditures that can be related to Natural Capital (i.e. gross annual value of Natural Capital) is estimated at US$ 564 million. The part of the value added created in the tourism industry that can be attributed to the natural environment of Aruba is estimated at US$ 269 million.

On top of that, the total willingness-to-pay (WTP) by tourists for enhanced nature protection on Aruba is examined using the contingent valuation method. During the same tourist exit survey respondents were asked directly how much they are willing to pay for enhanced nature protection on the island. Based on the mean of these stated WTP’s the total estimated WTP for nature protection by tourists visiting Aruba is US$ 10.6 million per year. This total WTP is a hypothetical monetary value and might be interpreted as the potential extra benefits of Aruba’s ecosystems for the local economy, provided that the money is spent on nature protection.

It is important to note that the environmental economics approach takes an anthropocentric view. Something will have value only if it provides a service to humans. This is in contrast to the belief that ecosystems and biodiversity have an intrinsic value in itself which justifies their conservation. Economic value is only one dimension of the overall value of nature (Balmford et al., 2011) and in order to integrate other dimensions that cannot be expressed in monetary terms (e.g. intrinsic value, freedom of choice, human rights) other analyses in addition to economic valuation are needed (e.g. livelihoods assessment, vulnerability assessment, capabilities to make choice assessments) (TEEB, 2010).

Finally, to obtain an idea of the spatial distribution around the island of its natural capital value for tourism the report presents value maps of Aruba considering both recreational and aesthetic values. During the same tourist exit survey tourists were asked to state their recreational and aesthetic values around the island. Furthermore, photographs from crowdsourced social media were analysed. According to the results from the tourist exit survey the most important hotspots are Eagle Beach, followed by Palm Beach and California Light House and the dunes. Based on the social media data, considering the perception of both tourists and locals, the most important aesthetic hotspots arethe Natural Bridge, Baby Beach and the California Lighthouse and its surrounding dune area.

The main recreational hotspots are the three white beaches along the western coast of the island (i.e. Malmok, Palm Beach and Eagle Beach).

Quantification of the benefits humans obtain from Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) supports decision-makers by elucidating the link between the functioning of MPAs and human welfare. By conducting a residential household survey among residents in the Cayman Islands, this study assesses people’s willingness to pay for the marine environment from a perspective of cultural and recreational values. In this way the study offers a partial estimation of the total economic value of the marine environment of the Cayman Islands. Two valuation methods are applied: the contingent valuation and the choice modelling method.

Data from 384 household surveys shows that 63% of the respondents are willing to pay for additional management of the marine environment. The average amount that respondents are willing to pay per month for an improvement in a marine protection area ranges between is 12.69 CI$ and 16.55 CI$. The Cayman Islands has approximately 24,165 households, resulting in a range of the total yearly cultural and recreational value of the marine environment of between 3.7 million – 4.8 million CI$ for its residents.

The choice experiment shows that respondents especially value coral reefs and water quality as marine elements. Moreover, households who participate in fishing on average express a higher value for all attributes of marine environment covered in the experiment. The study also shows that residents from Cayman Brac value fish catch significantly more than the other sister islands and that no-take zones are less valued by older residents and people born on the Cayman Islands.

The conclusions from our study concerning public support for expansion of the MPA diverge the findings of an earlier study. While Richardson et al. (2013) concludes that levels of support range from 14% to 47% between the sister islands, our study measured much higher levels of public support ranging between 58% to 85%. Whilst Richardson et al. (2013) used public consultation, geared towards assessing people’s opinions on the intended expansion, the statement within this study was part of a larger survey and a simplification of the proposed changes presented during the public consultation. However, besides the simplification, within this study people might have been primed by previous questions in the survey, which may have led to respondents realizing what trade-offs need to be made in marine conservation.

Finally, this research reveals the presence of an anchoring/ordering effect in the valuation process. Showing respondents the choice experiment first is associated with a higher fraction of the respondents being willing to pay in the contingent valuation, and to respondents being willing to pay more in the contingent valuation, compared to respondents that were shown the contingent valuation question first. 

his thesis is part of the project ‘What is Saba’s nature worth?’ a collaboration between the IVM, VU University Amsterdam and Wolfs Company. The aim of this study is to value the nature of Saba, a small Dutch Caribbean island. This small island faces a number of threats, which can harm the environment. Saba is home to unique ecosystems and its inhabitants have a strong link with their natural environment. The scope of this research is to determine the recreational and cultural value of this natural environment on the island to its residents with the use of economic valuation methods. Saban inhabitants were interviewed, during a household survey, on how much they are willing to pay for nature management on their island. The willingness to pay was determined by a choice experiment conducted as part of the household survey. With the choice experiment, the annual willingness to pay (WTP) per household for additional environmental management can be determined. The analysis shows that more than half of the respondents on Saba are prepared to pay for nature management on the island. The total WTP per year of all Saban residents for additional environmental management is 143,201 USD. This WTP is attributable to the different aspects that are considered in the experiment: the coastal waters, the natural landscape on the island, the Saba Bank and the management of free-roaming goats on the island. All aspects are valued positively by Saban households. The research furthermore creates insight in the perception of Saban residents on the natural environment on their island. 

St Eustatius, is a small island in the Caribbean and a special municipality of the Netherlands. As many other small islands, St Eustatius’ marine and terrestrial ecosystems are vulnerable to external disturbances, such as natural disasters but also pressures from human behaviour. Multiple stresses can lead to degradation of ecosystems, if these are not able to recover until the next disturbance. As ecosystems provide benefits to people, so called ecosystem services, the value of these services decreases, as the ecosystem degrades. Economic valuation of ecosystem services identifies the costs and benefits of human interaction with nature, e.g. construction, and helps to develop long-term development strategies that take ecosystem services into account. This research is evaluating the local recreational and cultural services that ecosystems on St Eustatius provide to their residents and their value to the inhabitants, as part of a larger study on the total economic value (TEV) of the island’s natural environment. To this end, a household survey with an embedded choice experiment is used. The results of the survey show that: (1) Half of the population has a general willingness to pay (WTP) for nature management; (2) the biggest perceived threats to the environment are oil spills, solid waste and invasive species; and (3) that the people of St Eustatius want see livestock on the island fenced and archaeology managed. The total aggregated annual WTP of all households on St Eustatius for the conservation of terrestrial land is 29,000 USD and for the marine ecosystems 65,000 USD. Residents of St Eustatius are willing to pay 41,000 USD for the management of archaeological heritage. An interesting result is that the people are keen on managing the roaming livestock by contributing additionally 64,000 USD on an annual basis. 

The global environment is in a relatively bad state and there is growing awareness of its importance to human wellbeing. This study aims to shed light on a corner of this importance. Although a corner its affects to human wellbeing is great. What if the entities one culturally identifies with should begin to deteriorate or very plausibly disappear? In the spirit of learning and providing innovation to current environmental policy practices, it is the objective of this study to determine the recreational and cultural value that the marine and terrestrial environment of Bonaire provides to its residents. The later in order to improve decision making on conservation efforts on the island by internalizing externalities in policies that affect the environment and its ecosystems. This was done through use of the environmental economics technique of choice modelling, which consists of a choice experiment as well as a supporting structured survey. Choice modelling determines the WTP (willingness to pay) to conserve nature. The results of this study suggest a yearly WTP by all households on Bonaire to improve the overall natural environments state from poor to moderate to be approximately $2,9 million USD and from poor to high as much as $3,9 million USD. However from the supporting background questions it was also concluded that a widely employed PES system (Payment for Ecosystem Services) would not succeed with- out learning taking place. There should be dialogue on the one hand and on account- ability (locals or tourists?) and on the other hand on the need for environmental management itself. In addition to this the most important perceived threats were found to be waste (solid and liquid) and coastal development. To sum up the study shed light on the tension that exists between tourism which residents economically depend on and the effect expanding tourism has on the nature of Bonaire. An impor- tant conclusion is that restriction of coastal and inland development is supported by locals as well as better waste management and goat management. Policy makers should take this document into account since it expresses the concerns and desires of the local population as regards to policies affecting the environment.