Wolfs, E.

This research is based on the TEEB framework- The Economics of Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity.TEEB is a branch in United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Ecosystem Divisions work, which aims to derive insight in the strong link between Economy and Nature. The objective of this research - which forms part of a larger umbrella TEEB Aruba research project - is to determine the cultural ecosystem service (CES) value that the marine and terrestrial environment of Aruba provides to its local community. The latter in order to improve decision making on conservation efforts on the island by internalizing externalities in policies that affect the environment and its ecosystems in favor of residents. Governments around the world are taking a keen interest in the measurement of subjective well- being, with a view to measuring progress more effectively, improving their policy decisions, and increasing the well-being of citizens. Aruba has started the process of implementing and localizing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The research employed a multi-method approach to value the CES of Aruba. For the economic/monetary value both Choice Experiment (CE) and Contingent Valuation (CV) were employed. To elicit information within the socio-cultural domain, Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) and Crowdsourcing for CES mapping. The results of this research are useful for feeding into spatial development planning, identifying areas of high cultural value, identifying opportunities for sustainable financing for conservation efforts and identifying the current gaps to efficiently monitor the sustainability of ecosystems on Aruba such that these can keep providing services for future generations.

The TEEB Aruba research shows that nature plays an important role in the lives of the local population, 95% of the local community has the perception that nature has an influence on their overall well-being and the majority finds it extremely influential. Around 70% visit natural environments to destress and relax and natural areas also serve as a bonding opportunity with around 25% of the local community on Aruba visiting a natural environment to spend time with family and friends at least once a week and another 39% at least once a month. The average amount that households are willing to pay per month towards management of Aruba's marine and terrestrial environment can be ranged between 25 AWG (14 USD) (CV) and 64 AWG (36 USD 1) (CE). Taking the conservative side of the range leads to a yearly willingness-to-pay towards management of Aruba's marine and terrestrial environment of 6.5 million AWG (3.6 million USD) by the local community.

Aruba’s natural capital value for tourism, culture, fishing and carbon exceeds US$ 287.3 million per year.

ARUBA, an island of 115,000 human inhabitants and a myriad more animals, plants, bacteria and other fantastic organisms, is a gem in the Caribbean Sea. Located in the Lesser Antilles, outside of the hurricane belt, it enjoys a great, calm, warm climate. In combination with beautiful, white beaches, natural mangroves, forests and saliñas, this has turned Aruba into a very popular tourist destination.

Aruba depends on tourism

Direct contributions of tourism account for 28.6% of total GDP. When combined with indirect, this reaches 88.1%, expected to reach97.4% by 2027.

Tourism depends on natural capital

A natural capital assessment of tourist expenditures derived US$ 269 million in value. The growth, employment benefits and economic rewards of the tourism industry are related to Aruba’s environmental attributes.

Environmental degradation could lose 50% of visitors

This report estimates the value of several ecosystem services to residents and tourist on Aruba by answering various research questions about the role of natural capital on the island.

Aruba’s welfare could halve if its marine environment degraded

A tourist exit poll of 584 surveys showed that between 45% and 55% of visitors would not return if there would be terrestrial, marine, or beach degradation.

Half of all 1.6 million visitors also indicated that they were prepared to pay additional fees for improved nature protection on the island.

Tourists are willing to pay US$ 10.3 millionper year

Aruba’s small population relies and depends upon many different services provided by its ecosystems. The small fishing industry on Aruba provides its related natural capital with a value of US$ 4.45 million.

Aruba’s local population values highly its natural surroundings: residents are willing to pay for an increased sized marine protected area. Also, increased fish catch, and natural areas, were indicated as priority services.

Residents willing to pay US$ 3.6 millionfor protection

Whilst the majority of Aruba’s residents are not bothered by the increase in visitors, over 80% of want natural history and cultural heritage to be taught in schools. They want to see a larger share ofgovernment budget going towards nature protection.

Carbon sequestration value on the island is estimated to be worth nearly US$ 109,000 per year. This is largely due to the tropical dry forests in the northwest of the island.

illegal fishing derives over US$ 2.1 millionin natural capital value

Recreational fishing activity on Aruba derives 36% of the value of fishing-related natural capital. However, the largest beneficiary is the illegal industrial fishing industry. Nearly 50% of the value is attributable to foreign industrial fishing in Aruba’s waters.

When considering the size of the tourism sector relative to Aruba’s GDP alongside the sector’s dependency on the environment, it is clear that any development plan must seriously consider the role of natural capital.

Value maps were also created for several services. As seen above, points of recreational interest for local residents are spatially analysed. These can provide input for spatial development plans and conservation programmes.

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. 

Since the first sightings of the lionfish in the Caribbean, the local marine ecosystems have experienced severe problems due to predation and competition by this invasive species. Since 2008, the lionfish problem is also present in the coastal ecosystems of the Cayman Islands. In order to manage this ecological threat, The Department of Environment (DOE) of the Cayman Islands requires both comprehensive ecological and economic information. Although ecological research on the lionfish invasion in the Caribbean region is increasing rapidly, socio-economic studies investigating the societal impact of this ecological threat are still rather lacking. This pilot study aims at providing an insight into the potential impacts of lionfish proliferation in the Cayman Islands on the tourism industry by revealing the perception of the lionfish problem by visitors to the Cayman Islands and measure the willingness to pay (WTP) of these tourists for managing this invasive species. These findings provide important information for the final calculation of the overall economic impact of lionfish on the Cayman Islands as well as providing a basis for possible funding schemes for the management of the lionfish problem.

An extensive visitor survey among 326 visitors shows that on average 60% of the respondents are in principle willing to pay (WTP) an environmental fee, managed by a nature organization, which would contribute to management of the lionfish problem. Depending on the valuation method chosen and taking into account the distinct characteristics of stay-over and cruise tourists, the total potential annual contribution of visitors for lionfish management in the Cayman Islands is determined at a minimum of USD8 million and a maximum of USD 26.3 million. From these findings we conclude that the support among visitors to manage the lionfish problem is already substantial but could be further increased by improving communication to visitors about lionfish related issues. 

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. 

This study aims to value the services provided by nature to tourists on St Eustatius. The natural landscape, the coastal waters, the tranquillity and rich historical heritage are highly appreciated by tourists that visit the island. For most Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such as St Eustatius tourism is one of the main sources of income. Healthy ecosystems are therefore crucial to the island. However, human development (including tourism) puts pressure on the same natural environment. In order to fully understand this paradoxical relationship, the economic value of the cultural and recreational ecosystem services to tourists and the economic contribution of nature to the tourism sector on St Eustatius are determined. Transparency about these values and the beneficiaries of ecosystem services can support the local and national government and other stakeholders in decision-making processes.

These values are retrieved using a choice modelling method. During six weeks, a total of 390 foreign visitors on Saba and St Eustatius have been interviewed. 190 of these respondents were interviewed on St Eustatius. With the use of a choice experiment, the willingness to pay (WTP) of tourists for the maintenance or improvement of nature and other island aspects is determined. The results also show the preferences of tourists concerning the different ecosystems and other island aspects. Characteristics, expenditures and perceptions about the natural environment of St Eustatius by visitors are retrieved through the complementary survey.

This study also reveals that next to nature-based activities, tourists highly appreciate island aspects such as the tranquillity, the friendly local people and admiring archaeological heritage. These aspects are part of the attractiveness of the island and should be taken into account when growth in the tourism sector is desired. The value of the natural environment for the tourism industry of St Eustatius is estimated to be almost 3 million USD per annum and tourists are willing to pay an annual 120,000 USD to increase the management of the archaeological heritage on the island. 

Fishing provides an important source of income and livelihood on the Caribbean Island of Bonaire, also many people fish for recreational purposes. A large part of the catch is composed of reef-dependent species, which rely on the health and productivity of local coral reefs. To assist decision-makers in understanding and managing these fragile ecosystems contributing to Bonairean well being the economic value of reef-dependent fisheries is determined. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the economic value of the reef fisheries is revealed to help decision makers understand which areas of reef are most economically important from a fisheries perspectives.

By estimating the economic value of the reef fisheries, which consists of both recreational and commercial fishing, the total socio-economic value of reef fishing on Bonaire is estimated. Commercial fishing is valued using the ‘net factor income approach’. The recreational value of the reef fisheries is calculated using both the ‘choice modelling’ and the ‘market valuation’ method. The commercial and recreational values are combined to arrive at a total, annual reef-fisheries value for the Island of Bonaire. This aggregate value is then combined with spatial fisheries production data using ArcGIS to create a fisheries value map of Bonaire.

The reef-related total commercial fisheries are valued at almost $400,000 annually. The recreational fishery value is estimated at an economic value of almost $700,000 per annum. These calculations have been used to create an allocation function, which estimates the spatial distribution of the fisheries value along the coral reefs of Bonaire. This in turn can be used to support long-term decision-making for example regarding specific locations for coastal zone development and its impact on commercial and recreational fisheries. 

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. 

To inform decision makers about the most effective strategies to protect the ecosystems of Bonaire, a full-scale valuation of all ecosystem services on the island of Bonaire has been undertaken by WIKCS and the VU University Amsterdam. The study addresses a wide range of ecosystems, ecosystem services and applies a multitude of economic valuation and evaluation tools. For budgetary reasons, a distinction has been made in terms of the ecosystem services covered by the studies between ecosystem services that are valued through primary research and ecosystems services that are addressed through secondary data analysis. This report summarises the ecosystem services that are valued on the basis of desk research or through key informant interviews. The quality of each sub-study varies, depending on the data availability to the subsequent researchers. This also implies that not each sub-study was able to actually generate a monetary value to be included in the Total Economic Value (TEV) estimate. Despite this caveat, the individual studies increase the understanding of the complex links between nature and society on Bonaire and are therefore worth presenting.

Art value

Artists are inspired by their surroundings. Such is also the case on Bonaire, where the natural scenery of the island stimulates artists to use components of nature in their work. Clearly, nature plays a crucial role in the production process of art on Bonaire. The demand of art consists of the thousands and thousands of tourists visiting the island, who are keen to bring home a piece of art to memorise the beauty of the island upon their return. Moreover, the beautiful photographs and books produced on Bonaire are distributed to clients across the world. Given the explicit demand and supply of art on Bonaire and its strong dependence on nature, the art sector on Bonaire plays an important role in the overall economy and provides an additional reason to manage nature well on the island. The value of the ecosystem service of artistic inspiration is valued at $460,000 annually.

Research value

Nature in Bonaire provides important services for research and education. The marine and terrestrial environment of Bonaire is subject for a large group of academics who conduct and publish innovative research based on these unique and easily accessible ecosystems. Without the presence of healthy ecosystems, Bonaire would not attract large numbers of researchers nor would Bonaire’s nature be a source of inspiration for many educational activities on the island and beyond. This sub-study made an inventory of all ecosystem related research expenditures funded by governmental and non-governmental organisations for Bonaire. In total a total research value was estimated between 1,240,000 USD and 1,485,000 USD in 2011.

Medical and pharmaceutical value

Medicinal plants play important roles in many traditional societies. The healing properties of herbal medicines have been recognized in many ancient cultures thousands of years ago. Besides these local benefits, biodiversity is important for the development of pharmaceutical treatments and drugs. The purpose of this sub-study is to economically value the benefits of species and ecosystem functions that are relevant for medicinal and pharmaceutical purposes. The study found that a large part of the population in Bonaire regularly collects and uses local herbs and other medicinal plants for medical treatment. Two-third of the inhabitants who were surveyed made use of local plants as an alternative to modern medicine or prescription drugs. Ultimately, a total annual medicinal and pharmaceutical value results of $688,788 of which more than half is comprised of the local value of medicinal plants.

Carbon sequestration

The ecosystem service of climate regulation deals mainly with greenhouse gas emissions and how ecosystems can mitigate such effects. Bonaire has six ecosystems that provide carbon-sequestering properties: salinas, dry forest, coral reefs, sea grass, mangroves and open ocean. The objectives of this sub-study is to (1) identify the ecosystems that are relevant to climate regulation in Bonaire with their functions and threats; (2) describe the different economic valuation methods suitable for climate regulation calculations; and (3) value the overall climate regulation potential of Bonaire. This desk study has made a rough attempt to estimate the carbon sequestration value of the main ecosystems of Bonaire. Based on carbon market prices at the time of research, this value was estimated at $290,000 per year.

Pollination by bats

The island of Bonaire is a fauna and flora rich and beautiful attraction in the Caribbean. By supporting fruit growth and aesthetic values, bats plays an important role in preserving high levels of biodiversity on Bonaire. This study made an attempt to give more insight in the importance pollination by bats for the island. Due to limited availability of data and time, the study will not generate an actual economic value of pollination. Yet, by describing the possible links between pollination and the economy of Bonaire, this study adds value and provides a solid foundation for an actual economic valuation study in the future. Despite of the lack of a concrete economic value, the evidence provide support the notion of conservation of the bats of Bonaire their natural habitat (i.e. caves). Both economic and cultural reasons have been identified to support this conclusion.

Coastal water quality

This paper attempts to examine the values of ecosystems in provisioning good water quality in Bonaire, Dutch Antilles. Bateman’s (2011) steps in ecosystem assessment and economic analysis are used as a framework to run this examination. Three ecosystems are identified that contributes to deliver services in question: mangroves, saliñas/salt marshes, and sea grasses. Based on their functions related to providing good water quality (filtering, water purification, and nutrient cycling) this report proposes three valuation methods: 1) replacement cost method for mangroves and saliñas; 2) Production function method for sea grasses. Benefit transfer also mentioned in the discourse to tackle the challenge of finding relevant data.

Amenity value

The fact that many people prefer natural over built environments is often manifested in house prices. Therefore various environmental conditions may have a significant impact on house prices. In Bonaire these include the view or proximity to water bodies, coral reefs and other healthy ecosystems. This study aims to estimate this so-called amenity value of nature on Bonaire. Through a hedonic pricing analysis, the hypothesis was tested whether property values are not only determined by conventional house and neighbourhood characteristics, but also affected by the presence and quality of Bonaire’s ecosystems. From this statistical analysis no strong significant impact of environmental variables onto the house prices has been detected and thus the hypothesis is rejected. This lack of evidence limits the possibility to calculate the amenity value. The cause of the poorly performing analysis is the limited data available on house sales on Bonaire.

Cultural value

The island of Bonaire has a precious though threatened nature and its culture is indistinguishable from nature. Yet, times are changing and so is the relationship between nature and society in Bonaire. Since the development of industrial times, less Bonairean practise agriculture, and less people are working in the nature. The objective of this study is to estimate the value of the cultural ecosystem services of the island of Bonaire. The scope of this sub-study is limited to four cultural values of ecosystems on Bonaire: (1) Recreational activities; (2) Subsistence and recreational fishing; (3) Kunukus; and (4) Cultural landscape. 

Bonairean ecosystems support touristic activities that depend on the quality of the natural environment, such as diving, snorkelling, kayaking, boating, enjoying beaches, and participating in land activities. The tourism sector is an industry with substantial size and financial contribution to the economy of Bonaire. However, the economic value of the contribution of nature to Bonaire’s tourism has never been quantified, nor have the most important aspects of Bonairean nature for tourism been identified. It is essential that the economic value of the ecosystem service to tourism and the dependence of tourism on Bonairean ecosystems while impacting these same ecosystems be determined in order to further assist policy-makers in understanding this crucial relationship and support them in wise long-term decision-making.

To determine the value of Bonairean ecosystems for the tourism industry a survey among tourists visiting Bonaire is conducted. This study estimates the average expenditures of these visitors, as well as their Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) for protection of Bonairean nature. The result of this survey also elucidates tourists’ perceived value of different aspects of Bonairean nature. The socio-economic value of the ecosystem services for tourism is combined with spatial data to determine which ecosystems are the most economically valuable with regards to tourism.

The expenditure by tourists on Bonaire is found to be around $125 million annually. An estimated welfare of around $50 million dollars is contributed by Bonaire’s nature to tourism. Stay-over tourists are found to contribute more to the tourism industry than cruise tourists, and marine ecosystems are found to be more economically significant than terrestrial ecosystems on the island. The high WTP of tourists for additional nature protection in Bonaire provides opportunities for the local government to increase the current user fees of visitors to Bonaire. 

IVM Institute for Environmental Studies