R esearch Them es
MarBEF Theme 3: Socioeconomics of Marine Biodiversity
By Stephen Mangi, Alyne Delaney and Mel Austen
regulate human activities. This can be achieved
Marine biodiversity plays a significant role in directly providing goods and
services th a t benefit people as well as regulating and modulating ecosystem
functions th a t underpin the delivery o f ecosystem services. These services have
been summarised in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment as provisioning,
regulating, cultural and supporting services. For example, the N orth Sea is
im portant fo r fisheries and is home to approximately 244 species o f fish but it is
also one o f the most im portant breeding grounds fo r birds which people value
fo r th e ir existence and which s u pp ort the leisure tim e o f recreational
birdwatchers. Furthermore, several social groups such as fishers, NGOs and
coastal villages gain part o f the ir identity through th e ir relationship with the sea.
in vo lvin g
by
c o n d u c tin g
in te rd is c ip lin a ry
e co lo g ica l, social and
stu d ie s
e co n om ic
aspects to understand th e causes and effects
o f th e se
a c tiv itie s ,
and
th e n
d e v e lo p in g
frameworks to comm unicate th e findings to
sta ke ho ld e rs
Sustainable
such
in c lu d in g
d e cision-m akers.
managem ent o f European seas
as th e
N o rth
Sea th e re fo re
requires
careful consideration o f all values concerned,
including industrial activities, recreation and
fisheries as well as th e ir im pact on nature and
bio diversity and social values.
W ithin th e EU-funded N etw ork o f Excellence
In utilisin g marine resources and services,
concerns a b o u t th e consequences o f such loss
human activities are often detrim ental to the
on th e
su sta in ab ility o f these services. In many parts
services, and human wellbeing.
of
th e
w o rld ,
m arine
b io d iv e rs ity
provision
o f ecosystem goods
and
ecosystem fu n c tio n in g are u n d e r intense
The
pressure from
M arine S trategy Directive require th e EU to
natural and
a n th ro p o g e n ic
fo r
B io d iv e rs ity
and
th e
a ctivities such as fishing, recreational uses,
p ro te c t th e
m arine e n viro n m e n t and
halt
n u trie n t in p u t and global climate change. As
b io d iv e rs ity
loss
th e
a result, b io d iv e rs ity
efficiency and effectiveness o f policies th a t
is declining,
raising
th ro u g h
much o f th e
is e ith e r unavailable o r scattered
between
enh an cin g
need fo r a single fram ework th a t brings the
available inform ation to g e th e r in a way th a t
enables policym akers to consider all fu n ction s
and interactions o f th e sea in policym aking.
Integrated research activities form th e core
pursuit o f Theme 3 in MarBEF, where we have
b ro u g h t
Nash / EcoServe
th a t
inform ation needed to consider these impacts
d iffe re n t countries and in stitu tio n s . There is a
and
C o n ve n tio n
MarBEF, we recognised
to g e th e r
a n th ro p o lo g is ts ,
e n viro n m e n ta l
research
e co n om ists,
historians,
lawyers
a c tivitie s
to
c u ltu ra l
e co lo g ists
conduct
u n d e r th e
and
jo in t
guidance
of
governm ent p o licy advisors.
O u r goal is to integrate research and data from
network members to understand th e economic,
social and cultural value o f marine biodiversity
and hence develop th e research base required
to s u p p o rt th e sustainable management o f
m arine
b io d ive rsity.
T h ro u g h
th is
in te rd iscip lin a ry research, we aim to bridge the
gap between natural and social science, and
deve lo p
to o ls
to
make
research
o u tp u ts
available fo r operational use to managers o f
th e
m arine
e n viro n m e n t.
O ur
research
activities encourage com m unication between
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M a rB E F N e w s le tt e r
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are loved by all, and respondents were willing
to
pay to
conserve them .
Fish are more
im p o rta n t than birds in th e G u lf o f Gdansk and
Azores, while UK people value birds more than
fish. Invertebrates and algae are generally least
valued, pro b a b ly because these two taxa are
no t as charism atic as th e
rest. There are
dem ographic differences in th e value o f marine
bio diversity (e.g. fish versus birds) and o u r
research will be exploring these further.
Through a MarBEF associated PhD stu d e n t­
NASA
ship, w ork is also underway to apply th e to ta l
econom ic value
Bottlenose Dolphin
c a se -stu d y
(TEV) fram ew ork to
areas
in
s o u th w e s t
three
England
th rough a process o f (1 ) id e n tify in g th e marine
managers, scie n tists
habitats and th e goods and services th e y
and socio-econom ists,
feed results into th e PhD work. MarBEF has
leading to research th a t will fa cilita te good
also enabled us to secure national fu n d in g fo r
provide; (2 ) providing estimates o f th e value o f
management and objective policy-m aking.
a d d itio na l MarBEF-associated PhD students.
these goods and services to humans under the
The team involved
What we have done so far
o f th e value o f marine conservation under
The dedicated group responsible fo r this in te r­
We have com pleted th e developm ent o f a
various p o licy o p tio ns using Im pact Pathway
disciplinary MarBEF Theme is jo in tly led by Dr
marine biological valuation m e th o d o lo g y th a t
Approach.
M elanie A usten (H ead o f Science, P lym outh
is able to
M arine Laboratory) and Prof Paul Holm (Rector,
in form ation o f an area into one in d ica to r o f
Roskilde U niversity). The team responsible fo r
in trinsic value. This m e th o d o lo g y should be
TEV framework; and (3 ) determ ining estimates
integrate all available biological
c o n d u ctin g econom ic valuation o f goods and
a p p lica b le
services includes D r N Beaumont, Prof E Ierland,
independent o f th e am ount and q u a lity o f the
in
every
m arine
e n viro n m e n t,
D r D De G root, Prof T D entinho, D r S Mangi,
available biological data and th e ha b itat type,
Prof G Edwards-Jones, D r JP Atkins, and D r E
and should be acceptable by a wide scientific
U ytew aal.
audience.
C u ltu ra l
a n th ro p o lo g is ts
and
We have developed a m e th o d o lo g y to value
one o f th e m ost im p o rta n t services provided
D r S Derous, D r D Burdon and D r A Ruijs. The
by
team
regulation. This research used th e Isles o f Scilly
o f c u rre n t
m arine
b io d iv e rs ity :
gas
and
clim ate
m anagem ent and le g is la tio n includes D r R
as
Barnes and D r H Rees.
p h o to syn th e tic fixa tio n values were estimated
a
case
stu d y.
N et
annual
ca rb o n
by m apping habitats o f keystone species o f
We have divided o u r research activities into
fo u r main areas:
kelp and seagrass and using literature data to
q u a n tify th e ir p ro d u c tiv ity as well as remote
sensing m ethods to estimate phytoplankton
•
•
S o c io -e c o n o m ic
v a lu a tio n
of
m arine
p ro d u c tiv ity . T he
e co n o m ic value o f th is
biodiversity in several case-study areas
service was then estimated using th e marginal
D evelopm ent o f a ‘b io lo g ica l v a lu a tio n ’
damage costs avoided. An adjacent A tla n tic
scheme to synthesise a unified index o f
Ocean com parison site was used to indicate
biological im portance o f marine habitats so
th e relative im portance o f island b io diversity to
th a t habitats can be sp a tia lly mapped w ith
this marine service. The Isles o f Scilly marine
an indication o f th e ir ecological im portance
e n v iro n m e n t
was
a p p ro xim a te ly
tw ice
as
productive as th e A tla n tic Ocean region, fixing
•
A review o f th e application o f environm ental
in d ic a to rs
w ith in
m anagem ent and
previous
and
le g isla tio n
c u rre n t
o f m arine
ecosystems
•
S ynthesis
research
fin d in g s
O cean
region
was
calcu la te d
to
be
d e lin e a te
o u r team
used
th e
various
s ta k e h o ld e r
divergence. Factor analysis was used to analyse
th e data, and th e findings were presented as
discursive perspectives. These perspectives are
im p o rta n t
to
p o licym akers,
planners
and
scientists as th e y provide a socio-cultural basis
fo r fu tu re
management policies. Four main
perspectives are evident from this w ork so far:
m anagem ent perspective,
perspective, fu tu re
goods
and
pe rspectives
c o n tin g e n t value
p o licy perspective, and
services
were
p e rsp e ctive .
drawn
fro m
These
g ro u p in g
individual cultural values and, once grouped,
naming them according to a p o in t th e y had in
comm on. Those which addressed policies, fo r
example,
were
named
th e
m anagem ent
perspective. This m ethod allows fo r sim ilarities
across stakeholder groups to be uncovered,
increasing th e likelihood o f managers being
able to see agreem ent o r discord.
The econom ic, social and biological values
from th e case-study areas will be com bined to
p ro d u ce
to
a
d e cisio n
s u p p o rt
system
fo r
European seas. The system comprises maps, a
develop decision s u p p o rt systems fo r the
Initial sta tistica l analyses have been com pleted
planning m odule and background inform ation
management o f marine ecosystems.
fo r th e econom ic value people place on the
on fu n ction s and social values. O n page 9
existence
Training is a key objective o f MarBEF Theme 3,
o f European
m arine
b io d iv e rs ity
using th e co n tin g e n t valuation m e th o d o lo g y
to build European ca p a bility in this new area o f
(C V M ).
in te rd iscip lin a ry research. We are g uiding six
b io diversity was in d ire ctly assessed by asking
M a rB E F -su p p o rte d
respondents what was th e ir ‘willingness to pay’
PhD
s tu d e n ts
in
T his
e co n o m ic
value
of
(WTP) to avoid a reduction in abundance o f
(Portugal), Isles o f Scilly (U K), Flamborough
various marine taxa including mammals, birds,
Head (U K), D u tch/B elgian coast, Sylt-Rome
fish, invertebrates and algae. A to ta l o f 747
(Denm ark) and G u lf o f Gdansk. In ad d itio n, a
respondents were surveyed in th e Azores, Isles
num ber o f MSc stu d e n t projects have been
o f Scilly, Flam borough
in itiated to c o n d uct site-specific studies th a t
Gdansk. Initial findings confirm th a t mammals
M a rB E F N e w s le tt e r
| A u tu m n 2 0 0 8
Head
and
(op p o site ) are a few screen-shots o f w hat such
a system could lo o k like.
m arine
c o n d u ctin g com parative studies in th e Azores
8
p erspective,
Q -m e th o do lo g y, a means o f discourse analysis,
136 49S tC y 1 w ith a mean net present value
o f € S 9 ,1 0 9 ,S 2 9 , while th a t o f th e A tla n tic
€ 2 8 ,6 4 1 ,7 2 7 .
o f th e
In o rd e r to evaluate marine b io diversity from a
so c io -c u ltu ra l
perspectives, th e ir areas o f consensus and
ecologists include Prof M Kaiser, D r S Degraer,
in charge o f a p p lic a tio n
marine b iodiversity has been com pleted in two
case-study areas: Isles o f Scilly and Pico-Faial.
to
historians involved in th e p ro je ct include D r A
Delaney, A M a rb o e and D r D Starkey, w hile
Fieldwork on th e socio-cultural valuation o f
G u lf o f
The challenges of
interdisciplinary research
It
has been
a challenge
to
develop
and
im plem ent jo in t research across th e natural
and social sciences where such collaboration
did n o t previously exist before MarBEF. We are
s ta rtin g to dem onstrate th e intellectual and
policy-related
Welcome to the Decision Support System of the European Seas
What would you like to do?
advantages o f developing this
new area o f jo in t marine b io diversity research.
The main goal o f MarBEF Theme 3 is to develop
a decision s u p p o rt system to provide cost-
W><v3 farm ptonainç
S Pafltey
effective strategies fo r effective managem ent o f
marine ecosystems. The aims o f such a system
are to maximise conservation o f biodiversity,
ecosystem fu n c tio n in g and sustainable use o f
m arine
ecosystem s
a n th ro p o g e n ic
and
under
e n viro n m e n ta l
v a ry in g
im pacts.
Through jo in t discussions, we have developed
th e main stru ctu re o f th e decision s u p p o rt
system and its po ten tia l applications. Through
consideration o f th e valuation protocols, we
have made decisions on issues such as data
need, data fo rm a t, data q u a lity co n tro l (e.g.
M oving over a regional sea will cause the map to zoom in, clicking will take
you to that specific region.
to e *
to
f.'r-e -
ecosystem
com ponent sep-aration, tem poral
va riab ility and spatial replication), g rid d in g and
th e choice o f scoring system.
inde>.
The integration o f th e m aterial obtained in the
case studies is an im p o rta n t elem ent in the
developm ent o f th e decision s u p p o rt system.
The econom ic valuation studies will produce a
d e ta ile d
in s ig h t in to
th e
e co n o m ic values
obtained th ro u g h th e CVM m ethod fo r avoiding
reductions in biodiversity. The case studies will
allow us to specify differences in WTP am ongst
socio-econom ic classes and o th e r im p o rta n t
explanatory variables.
From th e biological valuation studies, it will now
be possible to integrate spatial maps from case­
stu d y sites into th e decision s u p p o rt system
and
provide
a grid-b a se d
overview o f th e
ecological values o f th e various case-study
areas. This may be o f use in th e selection o f
marine p ro te cte d
areas o r areas to
locate
infrastructure such as wind tu rb in e parks.
We are still deciding how th e results from the
s o c io -c u ltu ra l
v a lu a tio n
can
be
d ire c tly
incorporated into th e decision s u p p o rt system.
O u r results show th a t th e m ethod can provide
Clicking on the North Sea will take you to general North Sea information,
whereas countries have their own specific information.
1^.
la
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an
overview
of
im p o rta n t
issues
b ro u g h t
forw ard by th e stakeholders, allow ing us to
classify stakeholder interests into categories.
|
These perspectives are very im p o rta n t in the
preparation o f well-designed policies.
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The next steps
We need to finalise how th e d iffe re n t valuation
m ethods and studies can all be captured in the
decision su p p o rt system. If a d irect com parison
o f valuation techniques seems im practical, then
we co u ld
use q u a lita tiv e
analyses
o f th e
com plem entarities and co n flicts in th e d iffe re n t
approaches to produce th e decision s u p p o rt
to o l.
Stephen Mangi,
P lym outh M arine Laboratory,
P rospect Place, W est Hoe,
Plym outh, PLI 3DH
UK
Email: stcm a@ pm l.ac.uk
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