Valuing Wetlands: Functions, Goods and Services University of Arizona, School of Renewable Natural Resources Yamilett Carrillo-Guerrero

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands Ramsar, Iran (1971) 133 countries as Contracting Parties 1224 Wetlands listed as Ramsar Sites million hectares of wetlands protected “The Convention's mission is the conservation and wise use of wetlands by national action and international cooperation as a means to achieving sustainable development throughout the world" (Ramsar COP6, 1996).

A key principle of the Ramsar Convention is that wetlands have great value Ecological Functions Social, Economic, Cultural Activities

“Undervaluing of wetland resources and functions is a major reason why wetland systems are converted or degraded”

CountryWetland LossPeriod Netherlands France Germany Italy Greece USA >50% 1900’s-date 55% 57% 67% 66% 63% Source: Hails, 1996 “Wetland Loss is the Result of Ignorance and Misunderstanding” (Edward Babier, 1998)

A major reason for excessive depletion and conversion of wetland resources is often the failure to account adequately for their non-market environmental values in development decisions.

Conservation can only be achieved if wetlands can be shown to be of value

Economic Valuation of Wetlands (Ramsar, 1998) means for measuring and comparing the various benefits of wetlands indicate the overall economic efficiency of the various competing uses of wetland resources wetland resources should be allocated to those uses that yield an overall net gain to society

Classification of total economic value for wetlands Use Values Non-Use Values Direct Indirect Option and Quasi-Option Existence fish nutrient retention potential future biodiversity agriculture flood control future value of information culture, heritage fuel wood storm protection. Bequest values recreation groundwater recharge.. transport external ecosystem support.. wildlife harvesting micro-climatic stabilization.. peat/energy shoreline stabilization, etc...

A major difficulty facing valuation of a complex environmental system such as wetlands is insufficient information on important ecological and hydrological processes that underpin the various values generated by the wetlands.

Research on Economic Valuation of Wetlands Estimates of societies’ willingness to pay for the conservation and restoration of wetlands Morrison et al. (1999)-Improving hydrologic conditions in wetlands Community was willing to pay between $22.3 and $102 US dollars per person per year for improving wetland conditions. Difference in donation related to different levels of improvement Acharya (2000)- Valuing hidden hydrological services of wetlands The value of wetlands in recharging aquifers in Nigeria is $13,029 US dollars per day for the community surrounding the wetland (farmer and household values combined).

Research on Economic Valuation of Wetlands Oglethorpe and Miliadou (2000)-The value of Lake Kerkini, Greek Willingness To Pay (WTP) for protecting the Lake and conserving it in its natural conditions averaged £15 (British pounds), totaling 28 million pounds per year. Woodward and Wui (2001)- Meta analysis 39 published papers Bird watching and production of commercial fisheries are those environmental services provided by wetlands that society values the most. Identified the goods and services resulting from the ecological functions of wetlands.

The Value of Wetland Functions (Woodward and Wui, 2001)

The Value of Wetland Functions (Woodward and Wui, 2001)

Discussion Peer-reviewed papers on the economic value of wetlands show that 1. Wetlands with no direct-use values are wrongly regarded as wastelands when only financial measures are used to evaluate them. 2. By using economic measures to value wetlands, the total value of the resources is accounted for. Thus wetlands will be evaluated by their indirect use and non-use values even when there is not commercial use.

4. Assigning monetary values to environmental resources has ethical and moral controversies attached: Some Scientists- ecosystems and natural resources are invaluable per se. Some Natural Res. Economists- valuation is an imperfect but necessary tool to estimate wetland use and non-use values that when unaccounted for had led to wetland loss and conversion. 3. Economic valuation of wetlands have proved that the net benefits of preserving and restoring wetland ecosystems outweigh the net benefits resulting from their conversion or development.

Conclusions It is difficult to estimate the value of wetlands and it is more difficult to translate it into monetary terms. Nevertheless, a valuation is needed in a world that holds monetary units as the reflectance of society’s values. Then, the benefits from wetland conservation can stand fair comparison with alternative development projects. The value of preserving wetlands can be approximated using estimates of how much will it cost to society to artificially provide those goods and services that wetlands provide and/ or the cost of rehabilitating degraded ecosystems so they could continue to provide those goods and services naturally.