IVM Institute for Environmental Studies

Policy Brief

The Challenge
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 nancial contribution to the economy of Bonaire. However, the economic value of the contribution of nature to Bonaire’s tourism has never been quanti ed, nor have the most important aspects of Bonairean nature for tourism been identi ed. 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.

The Approach
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.

Results & Recommendations
The expenditure by tourists on Bonaire is found to be around $125 million annually. An estimated welfare of around $50 million 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 signi cant 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. 

Policy Brief

The Challenge
Healthy ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves are critical to Bonairean society. In the last decades, various local and global developments have resulted in serious threats to these fragile ecosystems of Bonaire, thereby jeopardizing the foundations of the island’s economy. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how nature contributes to Bonaire’s economy and its wellbeing in order to make well-founded decisions when managing the economy and nature of this beautiful tropical island. This research aims to determine the economic value of the main ecosystem services that are provided by the natural resources of Bonaire and their overall importance to society. The challenge of this project is to deliver sound scientific insights that will guide decision-making regarding the protection of Bonaire’s ecosystems and the management of the island’s economy.

The Approach
By assigning economic values to the main ecosystem services of Bonaire, this research draws attention to the economic benefits of biodiversity and highlights the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. The study addresses the most relevant ecosystems and ecosystem services for Bonaire and applies a range of economic valuation and evaluation tools. By surveying over 1,500 persons, including tourists, fishermen, local residents, and citizens of the Netherlands, this study estimated the willingness of individuals to pay for the protection of Bonairean nature, as well as mechanisms (e.g. user fees) through which such payments would be transferred. Furthermore, a scenario analysis is conducted to inform decision makers about the most effective strategies to protect the ecosystems of Bonaire. This study intensively involved stakeholders from the start to finish, which facilitated data collection while simultaneously building capacity in applying the concept of ecosystem services among the target audience. 

Policy Brief

The Challenge
How important is the unique Caribbean environment for the Dutch citizen? How does one value the worth of these islands’ ecosystems to citizens of the Dutch mainland, even if these people will never visit these beautiful islands? Does the fact that the Caribbean Netherlands islands recently became special Dutch municipalities, while having to manage a huge nature area, create a sense of solidarity among the population of the Netherlands? These questions are addressed in an extensive case study with the aim to advice policy makers in the Netherlands about the level of public support for assisting the Caribbean Netherlands in their effort to sustainably manage their ecosystems.

The Approach
This study applied the contingent valuation method and choice experiments to determine the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the nature conservation on the mainland and on the islands. Over 800 face-to-face interviews of people living in the Netherlands were conducted, and additional 500 respondents lled out an online survey.

Results & Recommendations
The most notable result is that Dutch mainland citizens have a positive WTP for protecting nature on both sides of the ocean. Individual’s initial value on the environment as a whole and their level of consumer con dence in economy were strong explanatory variables in deriving their WTP. Despite a negative perception
of Dutch economic prospects, respondents nonetheless placed signi cant emphasis on environmental protection. After adjusting for preference and payment uncertainty of the respondent, the aggregated monthly amount for the non-use value of nature protection in the mainland Netherlands and the Caribbean Netherlands is estimated at €34 million and €17 million, respectively. Raising awareness that 20,000 inhabitants of the Caribbean Netherlands are in no position to fundamentally support the level of nature conservation that is needed is an important rst step to take. 

Policy Brief:

This study is part of the “Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Netherlands” (TEEB NL) study.
It is being conducted for the Caribbean Netherlands on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The Challenge
Bonaire inhabitants lived in balance with nature all their live. However, many pressures including a fast economic development of the island lead to less resilient ecosystems causing the people of Bonaire to take more precaution than they are used to. Therefore it is very relevant to understand how important nature is for
the people of Bonaire and them awareness of the vital role that healthy ecosystems play in supporting their own well-being.

The Approach
By studying the Willingnes- To-Pay (WTP) for nature conservation by Bonaire residents, the identi cation of the importance of nature for the people on
Bonaire is determined. Choice modelling is a way to estimate the value households’ attribute to the protection of speci c elements of nature on their island. Almost 400 households in Bonaire participated in this valuation survey. They were also asked qualitative questions regarding ecosystem threats, bene ts, and preferred environmental management options. 

Policy Briefs:

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity on Bonaire 

The Challenge
Fishing provides an important source of income and livelihood on the Caribbean Island of Bonaire, also many people sh 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 sheries is determined. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the economic value of the reef sheries is revealed to help decision makers understand which areas of reef are most economically important from
a sheries perspectives.

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

The coastal protection value (CPV) of coral reefs is one of the ecosystem services that contribute to the economic value of coral reefs. The basic principle of coastal protection by coral reefs is the observation that reefs dissipate wave energy either by wave breaking or friction by reef structures. In this study, the coastal protection value (CPV) is estimated on 30 * 30 m grid cell level, which gives a more spatially explicit estimation of the CPV of coral reefs. The annual coastal protection values of the coral reefs of Bonaire for short-term (i.e. within 10 years) and long-term processes (i.e. beyond 10 years) are estimated at $33,000 and $70,000, respectively. 

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. 

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 

Healthy ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves are critical to Bonairean society. In the last decades, various local and global developments have resulted in serious threats to these fragile ecosystems of Bonaire, thereby jeopardizing the foundations of the island’s economy. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how nature contributes to Bonaire’s economy and its wellbeing in order to make well-founded decisions when managing the economy and nature of this beautiful tropical island. This research aims to determine the economic value of the main ecosystem services that are provided by the natural resources of Bonaire and their overall importance to society. The challenge of this project is to deliver sound scientific insights that will guide decision-making regarding the protection of Bonaire’s ecosystems and the management of the island’s economy.

By assigning economic values to the main ecosystem services of Bonaire, this research draws attention to the economic benefits of biodiversity and highlights the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. The study addresses the most relevant ecosystems and ecosystem services for Bonaire and applies a range of economic valuation and evaluation tools. By surveying over 1,500 persons, including tourists, fishermen, local residents, and citizens of the Netherlands, this study estimated the willingness of individuals to pay for the protection of Bonairean nature, as well as mechanisms (e.g. user fees) through which such payments would be transferred. Furthermore, a scenario analysis is conducted to inform decision makers about the most effective strategies to protect the ecosystems of Bonaire. This study intensively involved stakeholders from the start to finish, which facilitated data collection while simultaneously building capacity in applying the concept of ecosystem services among the target audience.

In total, more than 10 different ecosystem services have been valued in monetary terms. The totaleconomic value (TEV) of the ecosystem services provided by the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of Bonaire is $105 million per year. This TEV and its underlying components can be used to build a strategy for effective conservation measures on Bonaire. After extensively analyzing different scenarios for future ecosystem services values one result becomes very clear: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In other words, it is more efficient to prevent extensive environmental damage than trying to revitalize the environment while there are still threats at hand. With the current threats unmanaged, the TEV of Bonairean nature will decrease from $105 million today to around $60 million in ten years time and to less than $40 million in 30 years. The project is well documented and provides several extensive online reports, five easily accessible policy briefs and a beautiful film documentary that translates the scientific results into real life situations on Bonaire.