TEEB

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 report will specifically focus on the spatial distribution of the ecosystem service values and will eventually visualize these values geographically in a total economic value map. The total economic value (TEV) of the ecosystems of St Eustatius is the sum of five different and mutually exclusive economic values. All these values have been previously studied and are published in different reports (Cado van der Lely et al. 2014; Fenkl et al. 2014; Van de Kerkhof et al. 2014). In this report we will merely visualize these values geographically and develop the TEV map. The TEV map will then be used to assess whether current spatial planning covers those ecosystems which are most valuable to the economy of St Eustatius.

When the spatial allocation of the economic value of ecosystems is compared to current spatial policies, the main conclusion is that existing boundaries for nature conservation appear to be on the right place. This however does not imply that policy is currently sufficient to conserve nature’s value since we have done no qualitative assessment of actual management. Moreover some very valuable areas of both terrestrial and marine environment are placed outside protective areas.

According to the spatial analyses of the values of St Eustatius’ ecosystems we have formulated the following three recommendations:

• Current protective zoning designations, both marine and terrestrial, are located in such a way that they protect the most valuable natural assets of St Eustatius. It is therefore vital that these zonings and regulations are strictly enforced to maintain the economic value of the ecosystems.

• One area along the slopes of the Quill Volcano could be reassessed for its zoning. According to our analysis this area encompasses some vital ecosystems and construction on this area could be further limited. We therefore recommend further research into this area and presumably a different zoning designation.

• The anchorage zone for NuStar could be reassessment reassessed since it is coinciding with a very valuable part of the coral reef. We recommend to investigate whether it would be possible to locate the anchorage zone further away from valuable coral.

This report will specifically focus on the spatial distribution of the ecosystem values and eventually visualize these values geographically in a total economic value map. The total economic value (TEV) of the ecosystems of Saba is the sum of several different and mutually exclusive economic values. All these values have been previously studied and are published in different reports (Cado van der Lely et al. 2014; Dekker et al. 2014; Van de Kerkhof et al. 2014). In this report we will merely visualize these values geographically and add up the values to create the TEV map. The TEV map will then be used to assess whether current spatial planning covers those ecosystems which are most valuable to the economy of Saba.

The TEV map has clearly demonstrated that for the marine and the terrestrial ecosystems of Saba, the economic value is highly concentrated on relatively small areas. On the island the economic value is mostly concentrated on the slopes of Mount Scenery. This value can for a large part be attributed to what tourist spend and are willing to pay for a vacation enjoying the natural beauty of trails around Mount Scenery. The marine value can almost solely be attributed to the coral reefs of the coastal waters of Saba.

Although, there are several policies in place to manage the areas with high economic value on the terrestrial grounds of Saba, there is no authority that is in charge and responsible for the conservation of certain economically valuable natural areas. To guarantee the sustainability of the concentrated economic value on Mount Scenery, the management of this area could be more sufficiently embedded within the institutional framework of local spatial policy.

The current zoning of the Saba marine park is concurrent with the spatial distribution of economic value. However, some reefs which add a significant value to the economy of Saba are located within the less protective zoning of ‘Multipurpose’. A light alteration to the zoning including this area in the ‘no take’ zoning could provide optimal protection of the coral reef and thus retain the economic value of the marine park. 

Map (GIS) showing the economic values of terrestrial ecosystems on St. Eustatius for:

• Carbon sequestration
• Cultural and local recreational value
• Archeology

See this report for more info.

For illustration, the excerpt below shows the total economic value

Since 10 October 2010 Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius (Statia) are part of the Netherlands. These three islands are referred to as the Caribbean Netherlands. The objective of this study is to assess the value that Dutch people as well as non-Dutch residents living in the Netherlands mainland assign to nature in the Caribbean Netherlands. This research applies two different stated preference techniques, the contingent valuation method (CVM) and choice experiments (CE), to determine the Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) of those living in the Netherlands for the conservation of ecosystem services and biodiversity in the Netherlands’ mainland and the Caribbean Netherlands.
Both methods provided new insights into the way people value the non-use values of nature in a national and local context. The surveys provided evidence for a nationalistic and community-based influence on valuation of nature. Both the CVM and the CE methods showed that locally-oriented Dutch citizens value nature in their own neighbourhood or country relatively higher than citizens with a global perspective or foreigners who live in the Netherlands and who place a lower value on improvement of nature in their own environment
Both surveys also showed that the values for nature both in and outside of the Netherlands depend heavily on the emotional mindset of the respondent. For example, individuals who are unconcerned about the state of nature in general value improvements of nature less than those who are concerned about nature. In the same fashion, consumer confidence proved to be a strong explanatory variable for value for nature protection: individuals with a high level of consumer confidence express a higher WTP for nature protection.
Finally, several methodological lessons were drawn from the surveys. These include the detection of ordering, anchoring and scoping effects, as well as the correlation between preference and payment uncertainty.
The estimated WTP amount for non-use values of nature in the Netherlands and the Caribbean Netherlands also allowed for the calculation of the aggregated values of both value domains. The non-adjusted aggregated annual amount of non-use value of nature in the Netherlands and the Caribbean Netherlands is estimated at €65 million and €34 million, respectively. However, by adjusting for preference and payment uncertainty of the respondent, the aggregated annual amount for the non-use value for nature improvements in the Netherlands is estimated at €34 million and for the Caribbean Netherlands at €18 million.

This month’s issue focuses on the conservation efforts for the Red-billed Tropicbird, which is taking place on the islands of Saba and St. Eustatius. Preliminary studies last year indicated that at two study sites on Saba breeding success was zero. One of the prime culprits appears to be feral cats. All the more reason to bring this species to the spotlight and ask your attention for the plight of this charismatic and locally endangered sea bird.

Amongst others, you will find in this fourth issue:

• Overview of Research and Monitoring Efforts
• Two-way route for Long-nosed Bats between Bonaire and Curacao
• ‘Research of the Month‘: Conservation Science: Red-billed Tropicbirds on Saba and St. Eustatius (by Adrian Delnevo and Hannah Madden)
• TEEB study: “What is St. Eustatius’ and Saba’s Nature Worth?” (by Stijn Schep)
• Nature Policy Plan Caribbean Netherlands published
• Calendar of Upcoming Events, Meetings and Workshops