Issue 41 June 2010 Seagrass-WThe official magazine of the Seagrass-Watch global assessmentatch and monitoring program Economic valueof seagrass Protecting the Gili islands Pulai River estuary monitoring Shoalwater Bay: a natural wonder Centre of the centre: the Verde Island Passage Roebuck Bay Ramsar wetland NE Madagascar seagrasses Economic value of fish trap fishery in Palk Bay Singapore oil spill: the hidden casualties Hermit crabs S eagrass-Watch Local eyes Global wise In this issue: Article page Giving a dollar value to seagrass..........2 Gilli Islands, Indonesia….................…6 Pulai River estuary, Malaysia...........…9 Shoalwater Bay, QLD…....................10 value on seagrass Center of the Center, Philippines........12 A Dollar Roebuck Bay Ramsar Wetland, WA...14 North-Eastern Madagascar…............16 Article by Richard Unsworth and Leanne Cullen-Unsworth Palk Bay, India…..............................19 Photography Len McKenzie, Stuart Campbell & Rudi Yoshida Oil spill in Singapore…......................20 Suva, Fiji….......................................23 Seagrass meadows are globally being lost at a rate of up to two football fields per hour; Hermit crabs…….............................24 this loss is roughly equal to the current rates of loss of coral reefs or tropical rainforests. Although many factors intricately interact to contribute to these losses, scientists and From the editors conservationists commonly believe that ecosystem degradation largely stems from In a world driven by economic growth, the anthropogenic impacts that are often exacerbated by a lack of appreciation for the actual need to attribute a dollar value to natural economic value of ecological systems. resources, such as seagrass ecosystems, has become a necessity to benefit Many would argue that ecological systems what will be the resultant economic conservation and realise the unforeseen are 'priceless', however, by not valuing benefits). Such analyses require extensive "costs" of mismanagement. In this issue are natural resources, when economic and information about impacts and the several articles on the economic valuation of resource management decisions are resources that will be affected. seagrass ecosystems, and how they benefit made, the value may be assumed to be 'Cost-benefit' decisions, however, are not human well-being. zero. always solely based on financial terms. Included are also articles on how seagrass Continued economic growth is the and marine habitats are being protected in Decisions may be based upon 'voter' cost- the Gili Islands Matra MPA and the Verde mantra of the majority of the world's benefit, or social cost-benefit, but these Island Passage to sustain incomes to local governments. To achieve this growth can often be linked to an actual financial communities generated from tourism and decisions need to be made and these are value for the decision makers. If an fishing. often based upon a cost-benefit analysis. environmental resource has no known As seagrasses provide habitat and food Decisions about investing in a new port financial value, and its value can only be resources for endangered and threatened terminal, developing new legislation to seen through emotive terms such as being animals, this issue includes articles on the control polluters, or providing funds for termed 'priceless' and 'invaluable', its important Ramsar wetlands of Shoalwater the construction of a new sewage actual financial value will often not be Bay in Queensland and Roebuck Bay in treatment works are all based on cost- considered or be considered to be Western Australia. benefit analyses (i.e. what will be the negligible. If a resource has no value on an In this issue, you can also read about the economic cost to build or implement, and asset register the loss of that resource may impacts of the recent oil spill in Singapore and be perceived to be inconsequential. a survey of seagrasses in North-Eastern Placing a direct economic value Madagascar. Catch up with the revived upon nature is always going to be monitoring in the Pulai River estuary controversial as some people will (Malaysia) and the ongoing monitoring at Suva (Fiji). You can even learn about hermit always believe that nature is crabs. 'priceless'. But nature provides goods and services just like a COVER: company does. The insight that Chwaka Bay, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Photographer Len McKenzie nature provides goods and ISSN 1441-4236 services to mankind is not a new Editing & additional text: one. The Cambridge Professor of Len McKenzie, Rudi Yoshida & Richard Unsworth Layout & graphic design: Economics Partha Dasgupta Rudi Yoshida & Len McKenzie recently described how in 360BC Recommended citation: McKenzie, LJ, Yoshida, RL & Plato remarked on the helpful role Unsworth, R (Eds) (2010) Seagrass-Watch News. Issue 41, June 2010. Seagrass-Watch HQ. 24pp. that forests play in preserving DISCLAIMER: while all efforts have been made to verify facts, fertile soil; in their absence, he Fisheries Queensland (a service of the Department of noted, “the land was turned into Employment, Economic Development and Innovation) takes no responsibility for the accuracy of information supplied in desert, like the bones of a wasted Seagrass-Watch News. The views expressed in this magazine body”. Valuation of ecological are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Queensland Government. goods and services such as those provided by a forest is difficult. In Seagrass-Watch acknowledges the Traditional Owners on whose sea country we monitor that instance it may be possible to provide a cost or value for the Seagrass-Watch HQ, rehabilitation of the land from Northern Fisheries Centre desert, but this will not provide a PO Box 5396, Cairns. Qld. 4870 AUSTRALIA email: [email protected] value for the habitat the forest provided for insects critical to This magazine can be downloaded as a pdf from pollinating nearby crops. www.seagrasswatch.org/magazine.html NEXT ISSUE OUT SEPTEMBER 2010 Fish trap or "dema" (Chwaka Bay, Zanzibar, Tanzania) 2 WWW.SEAGRASSWATCH.ORG Fish trap (Cyrene Reef, Singapore) Placing a value upon the ecological ecosystem goods and services provided include 'fisheries production' and 'fisheries goods and services provided by seagrass is by these resources as 'direct' and 'in-direct' nursery value', as well as 'biodiversity equally difficult. Providing an economic use values. The actual methods used to protection' (e.g. dugong, turtle, value for a seagrass meadow can firstly be place financial values upon these goods seahorses). Seagrasses also provide done through the consideration of its and services are varied and often services that are a little less obvious such as ecosystem services, defined as the controversial but are well explained within 'nutrient cycling', 'coastal protection', “benefits human-kind obtains from a a number of key textbooks (see further 'water filtration (sediment trapping)', multitude of resources and processes that reading below). 'carbon cycling' and acting as a 'carbon are supplied by natural ecosystems”. The commonly observed goods and sink' (while also producing oxygen). Other Economists commonly refer to the services that seagrass meadows provide services that seagrass meadows provide include social, cultural and spiritual resources. Many indigenous peoples' have Components of seagrass meadows that contribute to their Total Economic Value (TEV) close cultural and spiritual links to seagrass (from Cullen 2007) meadows, including their use in cultural Use values Non-use values and religious ceremonies. In many Direct Indirect Other Existence & Intrinsic locations seagrass meadows are also Consumptive Non- Bequest economically important for the habitat consumptive they create for cultivating seaweed. Fisheries Tourism Biological support Option value Knowledge of Biodiversity In addition to these direct and in-direct Aquarium trade Research (e.g. fish nursery) (e.g. system existence Species richness ecosystem goods and services there are (e.g. seahorses) Education Coastal maintenance of and continued Existence with no other non-use values that can be Curio trade Recreation protection system for future existence for human use (e.g. shells) Culture Global life use) enjoyment by calculated, such as their 'existence' and Bio-prospecting Religion support future 'bequest' values (knowledge that a (e.g. (e.g. oxygen generations resource exists and will continue to exist sponges) production) Construction for future generations), and their 'intrinsic' materials value (value of biodiversity and JUNE 2010 3 The commonly observed goods and services that seagrass meadows provide include things like ‘fisheries production’ and ‘fisheries nursery value’, as well as ‘biodiversity protection’ (e.g. dugong, turtle, seahorses) ecosystems removed from any perceived A range of values have been calculated seagrasses to be worth over US$3.5 human benefit). Bringing all these direct, for seagrass meadows throughout the million to the local communities (or 2,287 indirect and non-use values together world based upon a number of different ha-1.yr-1). Two-thirds of this value arose provides what is termed the Total goods or services. One of the most straight from tourism, but it did not include a Economic Value (TEV), and this can be a forward values to be placed upon a calculation of any non-use values. At a very useful tool for decision makers. seagrass meadow is that of its exploitable location such as Green Island on the Great Valuing seagrass meadows