Coastal Capital: Economic Valuation of Belize’s Reefs and Mangroves
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Coral Reef in Belize
Lauretta Burke, World Resources Institute
“Coastal Capital: Belize” addresses threats to Belize’s coastal ecosystems such as unchecked coastal and tourism development and overfishing – by assessing the contribution of reef- and mangrove-associated tourism, fisheries, and shoreline protection services to Belize’s economy. Our results were used to justify new fishing regulations, a successful damage claim against a ship that ran aground on the Belize Barrier Reef, and a ban on offshore oil drilling.
Last update: 09 Jun 2022
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Context
Challenges addressed
political neglection of the value and benefits that Belize´s reefs and mangroves hold
• Unchecked coastal development, overfishing, and pressures from tourism threaten Belize’s reefs and mangroves, with climate change adding up.
• Benefits of Belize’s coastal ecosystems are frequently overlooked or underappreciated in investment and policy.
• Very little money is currently invested in protecting Belize’s coral reefs and mangroves compared to their contribution to the economy.
Location
Belize City, Belize
Central America
Process
Summary of the process
The Coastal Capital: Belize valuation approximately followed the steps detailed in the guidebook “Coastal Capital: Ecosystem Valuation to Inform Decision Making in the Caribbean” (Figure 1). Lessons learned from Coastal Capital: Belize, along with 15 other cases of valuation studies that successfully informed decision making in the Caribbean, informed the development of the guidebook.
Going back to Belize even after release of our results helped a lot—encouraging use of results to inform decision making, tracking of instances of use in decision making, and building additional capacity (e.g. additional valuation training for MPA managers).
Building Blocks
Partnership and meaningful stakeholder engagement
During the first year of the project, we developed a partnership with a range of groups and individuals interested in economic valuation and marine conservation in Belize. Our core partners were WWF-Central America and World Conservation Society, but we also worked with more than 10 Belizean NGOs, MPA co-managing organizations, and government departments, as well as faculty at Belize’s universities. We held a workshop in Belize in 2007 to introduce economic valuation and held several follow-up workshops in the following year, focusing separately on shoreline protection, fisheries, and tourism in greater depth. The project partnership represented the views and expertise of a wide range of primary, secondary, and external stakeholders. The partnership was instrumental in helping design the valuation study, identify potential policy applications and outreach opportunities, collect data, and communicate results to decision makers.
Enabling factors
• Time and resources dedicated to building and communicating with partnership
• Previous experience and partnerships/relationships in Belize
• Open communication and mutual respect
Lesson learned
The positive results of working very closely with our partners on policy applications in Belize reinforced the lesson that early and frequent contact with knowledgeable partners is crucial to producing useful results and supporting conservation and sustainable development outcomes.
Collection of environmental/socioeconomic information
Working with partners, we gathered data on reef- and mangrove-associated tourism, fisheries, and shoreline protection from a variety of sources (mostly sources in Belize):
- Tourism: data on accommodation from the Belize Tourism Board, scaled by the percentage of tourists who are reef- or mangrove-associated (determined via expert opinion in each district), data on reef and mangrove recreation and cruise tourism from the Belize Tourism Board
- Fisheries: data on catch from Fishermen’s Cooperatives, divided into (1) exports through cooperatives, (2) local sales through cooperatives, (3) all other local sales
- Shoreline protection: a variety of spatial data sets were collected, including data on coastline (SERVIR), elevation (NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 90m DEM), coral reefs (Belize Tropical Forest Studies Ecosystem Map, Wildlife Conservation Society, Belize Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute), mangroves (Belize Forestry Department, LANDSAT), coastal geology, coral characteristics, storm regime, and coastal property values (internet search).
Enabling factors
- Knowledge on how to develop a sensible model and data needs
- Engaged partners who identify the best sources and facilitate data transfer
Lesson learned
We were somewhat surprised at how difficult the data collection process was for Belize, both at the national and MPA levels. This led us to encourage improvements in data collection and record keeping (some of which have been adopted) by MPAs, the Fisheries Department, and the Belize Tourism Board. It also led us to re-consider using alternative valuation approaches, including survey-based methods, going forward – especially since Belize may well have much better data than some other countries in the region.
Valuation of coral reefs and mangroves
Our economic valuation method can be repeated at relatively low cost, using largely existing data. We only valued a portion of the many services provided by coral reefs and mangroves, focusing on components that are relatively easy to measure using published information and especially important to local economies.
Tourism: We used financial analysis to estimate that in 2007, reef- and mangrove-associated tourists spent US$150–$196 million on accommodation, reef recreation, and other expenses.
Fisheries: We used financial analysis to estimate that economic benefits (sales plus value added from cleaning and processing) from reef- and mangrove-dependent fisheries were US$14–$16 million in 2007.
Shoreline Protection: We evaluated shoreline protection services in a geographic information system (GIS). We used an avoided damages approach to estimate that coral reefs provided US$120–$180 million in avoided damages in 2007, with an additional US$111–$167 million from mangroves.
In total, we estimated the value of these three coastal ecosystem services in Belize to be US$395–$559 million in 2007. As a reference point, Belize’s GDP was US$1.3 billion in 2007.
Enabling factors
- Choice of appropriate valuation methods – we used financial analysis and cost of avoided damages. These methods are easily-understandable, straightforward, and replicable. The method also was cost-effective as it did not require any surveys to be administered (it relied all on secondary data).
- Focus on ecosystem services that are relevant to decision makers - We chose three (fisheries, tourism, and shoreline protection) that are easily understood and are of immediate concern.
Lesson learned
Our valuation approach – developed primarily for national level assessments – is only a partial fit at the MPA level. Because it provides a “snapshot” of today’s actual use, it gives artificially low value estimates for underutilized tourism sites such as Bacalar Chico. A study of tourism carrying capacity (dive, snorkel, fishing) for different marine sites in Belize would be useful to assess the full potential value of these sites.
Training in economic valuation
The bulk of our capacity building effort in Belize was aimed at enabling stakeholders to replicate our valuation methods. We focused at the MPA level, where we worked with a number of NGOs, as well as Hol Chan Marine Reserve and the Fisheries Department, to develop a template for applying the national valuation methods in MPAs. We worked with co-managers for several MPAs in Belize to compile data on use of the reserves for fishing and tourism. For many MPAs, this exercise highlighted gaps in current data collection, and drew attention to chronic undercounting of visitors and user fees. We produced preliminary valuations for all of the MPAs we worked with.
We conducted a workshop summarizing our efforts in November 2008 and invited all organizations working on MPAs to attend. A great deal of interest was expressed in the economic valuation template. We have made it available electronically along with a detailed user’s guide. Several MPAs have already committed to adapting their current data collection efforts to better support economic analysis.
Enabling factors
- Multiple training opportunities in different formats geared toward end users (workshops and one-on-one trainings)
Lesson learned
The experience of training MPA managers in economic valuation drove home the important lesson that lack of time and high turnover rates make it especially difficult for many groups to replicate these studies; however, it did validate our belief that the method should be kept simple and straightforward, making it relatively easy to pass on the valuation techniques to new staff. We also feel that emphasizing collection of the relevant information for a valuation study (for instance, how many people are actually diving, snorkeling, or visiting the reef) can also lead to better management outcomes.
Targeted communication products and outreach
After developing several communications products geared to different audiences, we released the valuation findings at the International Year of the Reef Symposium in Belize City in November 2008. We also distributed findings in a six-page summary pamphlet for decision makers; several local partners also incorporated the results into videos shown to the Prime Minister and other officials at the gala event that evening. At the request of the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT), we also produced a one-page document aimed at policymakers and have distributed it through PACT and other local partners.
We also made Excel-based tools to facilitate replication of our valuation methods and data collection. These tools and users’ manuals, along with the full technical report and summary, are all freely available for download at our website.
The Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative, along with WWF, WCS, Oceana, and many other local NGOs, have used the economic valuation findings in their efforts to negotiate for tighter fishing regulations, new mangrove legislation, a ban on offshore oil drilling, and other conservation and sustainable management goals.
Enabling factors
- Partnership and stakeholder engagement: A strong collaboration with dedicated partners ensured relevant and effective communication with decision makers. In most instances, our Belizean partners led outreach and dissemination.
- Critical access to decision makers through Belizean partners.
- Strategic packaging of results: We compared the value of Belize’s coral reefs and mangroves to national GDP.
- Timeliness: The release of results coincided with important events and activities in Belize.
Lesson learned
Use different communications products (e.g. long paper, short summary of key findings, video, presentations) and channels (e.g. public events, private targeted meetings, through partners and their networks) to reach your key audiences. In particular, encourage your partners to make use of and promote your findings and recommendations.
Impacts
Influenced by Coastal Capital: Belize, the government of Belize has taken significant steps to protect its coral reefs and mangroves. After the container ship Westerhaven ran aground on the Belize Barrier Reef in 2009, the government decided to sue for damages – something that had not occurred with past groundings. In a landmark decision – which mentions Coastal Capital and the importance of reefs to Belize’s economy – the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that the ship’s owners must pay the government ~US$6 million in damages (reduced to ~US$2 million in 2011). The government also tightened a number of fishing regulations, including banning the harvest of parrotfish and banning spearfishing within MPAs. Belizean NGOs also used the valuation results to successfully advocate a ban on offshore oil drilling, and continue to use the results to further their advocacy. The valuation has also had impacts beyond Belize; for example, a coastal manager in St. Maarten replicated the study and convinced his government to establish an MPA in 2010, and the Jamaican government was awarded damages for a ship grounding in 2011, citing the Belize case as precedent.
Beneficiaries
fishers, tourism industry & tourists, coastal communities
Story
“When a large section of the Belize Barrier Reef was damaged by a cargo ship, besides the catastrophic environmental impacts, those who rely on the reef for their living were affected. With WRI’s research on the value of the goods and services that the coral reef provides, the government of Belize went to court to seek fair compensation based on hard data – not speculation – and won a multi-million-dollar settlement, the largest environmental fine in the country’s history. This research allows governments to hold accountable those who damage these precious resources. It’s also led to support for other protections, such as bans on unsustainable fishing methods. With WRI’s help, we’re making real progress in implementing the management measures needed to protect this valuable ecosystem.”
In Belize, the Coastal Capital coral reef values were also used in public education, debates and ultimately in a 'mock referendum' against offshore oil. The referendum had exceptional voter turnout nationwide with ~95% in favor of banning offshore drilling.
- Melanie McField, Healthy Reefs for Healthy People
