Tyllianakis, E, Callaway, A, Vanstaen, K et al. (1 more author) (2019) The value of information: Realising the economic benefits of mapping seagrass meadows in the British Virgin Islands. Science of The Total Environment, 650 (Part 2). pp. 2107-2116. ISSN 0048-9697
Abstract
Carbon capturing coastal and marine habitats around the world are decreasing in extent every year, habitats found in abundance in Small Island Developing States' territories. However, these habitats are under threat by increased levels of economic activities and extreme weather events. Consequently, as those ecosystems become scarce their value is expected to increase. In this paper the “value of information”, the increase in knowledge that renders a system or a function more valuable, from marine habitat mapping is presented through the (monetary) valuation of one regulating service provided by the newly mapped habitats. Mapping a section of a channel with a multibeam echosounder revealed more seagrass resources than in previous studies. Using values for both the Social Cost of Carbon and Abatement Cost methods, from the literature we estimate the value of the carbon sequestration and storage service these seagrass meadows provide. The impacts of hurricanes in the newly mapped seagrasses were also investigated. Despite the costs of mapping, monitoring and of projected losses of ecosystem services provision due to hurricanes, net benefits over a time period of 50 years were considerably larger. The new information provided highlights carbon capturing habitats as more important, enabling the “value of information” to inform policymaking.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Keywords: | Habitat mapping; Seagrasses; Cost benefit analysis; Carbon sequestration and storage; Blue carbon; Value of information |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Earth Surface Science Institute (ESSI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 02 Dec 2019 12:49 |
Last Modified: | 02 Dec 2019 12:49 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.296 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:154022 |