Mangrove Boardwalk on Cocoplum Resort & Residential Development.
Nadia Bood
The ‘Valuating Climate Adaptation Options’ study used ecosystem service and cost-benefit analysis to illuminate the trade-offs between different climate adaptation strategies on Placencia Peninsula, Belize. It accounts for coastal-marine ecosystem services like tourism opportunities, protection from storms and sea level rise, and spiny lobster catch to make informed decisions.
Last update: 30 Sep 2020
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Context
Challenges addressed
balancing tourism development and protection of nature On the Placencia Peninsula, coastal development and natural ecosystems face significant climate-related vulnerabilities. Adaptation responses are needed due to a strong relationship between vibrant natural resources and the development and growth opportunities offered by tourism and shrimp aquaculture industries on the Peninsula, nearby wetland system, and southern Belize Barrier Reef matrix.
Location
Belize
Central America
Process
Summary of the process
In Belize, government decision-makers, NGOs, private sectors groups, and communities are increasingly interested in building resilience and adapting to the adverse effects of climate change. However, the costs and benefits of adapting to these changes are not widely understood, limiting the ability of decision-makers to prepare for future challenges. This project was aimed at helping to meet this gap. All the building blocks related to this solution were implemented in an orderly manner to contribute to a unified process of execution of a cost benefit analysis (CBA) (see fig. 1) that could be replicated in tropical coastal marine areas in Belize and more widely by monetizing ecosystem services, addressing variation in the distribution of costs and benefits across an area, and helping to identify who and what bears the risk of climate change effects or the benefits of corresponding adaptation measures. The analysis drew upon extensive stakeholder engagement and collaboration with policy makers throughout all the building blocks.
Building Blocks
Characterisation of ecosystem services
Stakeholders, including government and local communities, are engaged in the early design stage of the development of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan. Up-to-date datasets on ecosystem services are identified as critical given their relevance for the Placencia Peninsula region’s economic stability and growth (coastal protection, spiny lobster fisheries, marine tourism and recreation, and carbon storage and sequestration). Data was collected and included within the Natural Capital’s Marine Invest analysis tool in order to carry out ecosystem service valuation.
Enabling factors
• Availability of funds and technical know-how to undertake the project
• Good understanding of existing problems and potential management options
• Easy access to relevant information/datasets to undertake the analysis
Lesson learned
A good quantitative understanding of the services provided by the targeted natural ecosystems is needed. As such, access to robust and recent datasets is a prerequisite to help inform effective analysis.
Consultation is critical to this work and was braided throughout each step of the project. Stakeholders also included representatives from civil society, government and academia. Their feedback was instrumental in guiding the methodological design and data collection. The scope and timeframe of the study did not allow for extensive engagement of local communities on the Placencia Peninsula; however, the project benefited from the results of other related research to obtain insight on communities’ and private sector’s thinking with respect to ecosystem service provision and climate vulnerability. We regard this as a valuable follow-up activity that should be considered to improve the process and disseminate results.
Climate impact hypotheses
Stakeholders were consulted to obtain feedback on relative vulnerabilities. Other related information was also sourced via desktop research and review of journal articles. Three sectors that directly benefit from ecosystem service/function were considered in the modeling: the tourism industry (recreation); the spiny lobster fishing industry (food); and coastal property owners (protection). Climate impacts of concern to those stakeholder groups were discussed. Analysis of the direct and indirect influence of climate factors on ecosystem services/habitats was conducted.
Enabling factors
• Effective stakeholder dialogues and outreach initiatives
• Partnerships provided the support needed for effective implementation of the project’s activities
Lesson learned
The scenarios helped us to effectively communicate climate influence and impacts as well as the scientific thinking behind the process and approach for addressing impacts to inform policy and decision-making on climate change. Scenarios played a critical role in raising awareness on climate change and in engaging organizations and stakeholders in the need to adapt.
As thought about moving forward in replicating this type of effort, we have realized that it is not enough to simply make climate change scenarios available. Their provision must be accompanied by ongoing guidance and support to ensure widespread and appropriate uptake. Second, on-going dialogue between those providing scenarios and the communities using them is fundamental to constructively meet the challenges associated with delivering credible scenarios that balance user requirements and expectations with what the science can deliver.
Climate adaptation scenarios
Climate impact hypotheses were translated into quantitative relationships and data layers for use in the InVEST ecosystem service models. Adaptation strategies were selected based on outcomes for ecosystem service provisioning with a set of four climate adaptation scenarios tested. In selecting the most appropriate adaptation strategies, we drew on existing research with stakeholders in Belize that identified the ‘best options’ for sustainable development, adaptation, and mitigation of climate change in Belize, and looked at these under three management scenarios.
Enabling factors
• Existing strategies from climate development-partner funded efforts were the basis for discussion. The strategies had a focus on linkages between climate adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development (triple-wins) in the coastal zone.
• Literature review and focus group discussions were used to refine the list of strategies, to identify measures that are: feasible for Placencia to undertake; to map and value; and clearly responsive to climate impacts.
Lesson learned
In some cases, there were insufficient data or understanding of the nature of the relationships between the climate change variable and ecosystem service to model robustly. As a result, we were only able to model climate impacts for two out of the four service models: lobster fishery and coastal protection.
Limited time and human capacity restricted our ability to model sea level rise impacts on coastline retreat at a fine scale (e.g. more precise modeling of mangrove distribution and land loss needs finer resolution bathymetry data). The resolution of existing bathymetry data for Belize is quite poor, as it is for much of the region, and the limited timeframe of this work (10 months) precluded the pre-processing of bathymetry data.
We got spatial results about changes in ecosystem services from climate change and development factors but we could not identify particular groups most vulnerable to these changes due to data gaps.
Cost-benefit analysis
Alternative adaptation options were analyzed via the Marine InVest tool to identify costs and benefits of these approaches. Costs were incorporated directly into the scenarios and InVEST. This included the costs of implementation of adaptation options combined with any associated costs to ecosystem services quantified by our models, and benefits represented by the positive return in ecosystem service values quantified by our models. Local experts helped in reviewing the selected ecosystem services and adaptation options. A technical report was developed on the activities.
Enabling factors
The models had the capacity to effectively quantify the potential costs and benefits of climate change and alternative adaptation strategies to lobster fishing and coastal protection, and alternative adaptation strategies to tourism and carbon storage and sequestration. The ecosystem service models provided a useful framework for tackling a complex set of issues within limited timeline.
Lesson learned
Using storylines, spatial scenarios for Integrated and Reactive adaptation approaches, three models for ecosystem services, model for seawall protection from storms, information from the literature, and stakeholder expertise, we were able to effectively quantify the benefits of adaptation options in terms of revenue from lobster and tourism, carbon storage and sequestration, and avoided damages to coastal infrastructure. Outputs from models are relevant to Belize’s decision-makers, the public and private sectors, as described in building block 5.
This CBA approach helped to clearly assess the costs and benefits of alternative adaptation options in an efficient way.
Standardizing both costs and benefits, such as ecosystem services, in monetary values enables cross-sector decision-making and allows for a more complete economic assessment of options.
Transparent sharing of information
The results of the project have been shared with Belize’s Ministry of Forest, Fisheries and Sustainable Development (including Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute and National Climate Change Office) and the Ministry of Tourism to facilitate replication, and uptake of the process and recommendations. The results have also been shared with local communities, local NGOs, land developers and the private tourism sector to build capacity, awareness and implementation of greener landscape practices within the coastal zone.
Enabling factors
• Continuous and transparent sharing of information and best practices with communities and stakeholders.
• Interest and wish to conserve the natural ecosystems exhibited by local communities, stakeholders and government decision-makers.
Lesson learned
Working in partnership and building a sustained relationship with local communities and stakeholders (e.g. private tourism sector groups) on the Peninsula opened doors for us to influence better practices on the ground. This is very important since these groups can play important roles as advocates, sponsors, partners and agents of change. WWF has been carrying out conservation and climate adaptation related projects on the Placencia Peninsula since 2007, and over the years have built credibility within and among the communities and sectors on the Peninsula. Where there is trust, communication can be very effective.
Impacts
Efforts are leading toward seeking protected areas designation of the Placencia Lagoon as a means to protect mangrove forests and fringing ecosystems, seasonally and permanently inundated wetlands, endangered species and nursery habitats for marine life as well as to create buffer zones for flood and wind control. This initiative is being pushed unitedly by private sectors groups (tourism, fisheries and shrimp aquaculture farms), community village councils (4), local NGO and Concerned Citizen Groups. Increased efforts to restore and conserve mangroves on the Peninsula.
Beneficiaries
coastal communities on the Peninsula, local tourism, private sector, local shrimp aquaculture, spiny lobster fishing industry, coastal land developers, local marine protected areas managers
Story
Many coastal developers in Belize have traditionally opted to clear land down to the shoreline on their properties, even though this activity is illegal and often results in immediate loss of portions of their properties to erosion. This in turn leads to hard coastal defenses that accelerate neighboring erosion. This also occurs on the Placencia Peninsula as well. More recently, there have been increased outcries from local communities and concerned citizen groups for developers to implement better development practices to reduce vulnerability on the Peninsula and its adjacent lagoon system. Using results of this solution and other related projects, WWF have been working in partnership the local NGO, Southern Environmental Association (SEA), the Friend of Placencia Lagoon (a diverse concerned citizen group), shrimp aquaculture farmers and village councils to bring attention to the adverse effect of such unsound development actions and sharing information and training to develop with a green approach. Although pressure for land development (both tourism and for community expansion) continue to alter the face of the Peninsula, the use of green (i.e. natural vegetation) vs grey (i.e. concrete seawall) infrastructure to stabilize shorelines of private properties appears to be given increased attention, particularly on the lagoon site of the Peninsula. Efforts to maintain mangrove buffers along the lagoon banks is notable in addition to proactive efforts to replant mangroves in areas that have been previously cleared and experiencing notable erosion. Some land developers and shrimp aquaculture farms have also made a request to donate mangrove covered areas on their property to the proposed Placencia Lagoon protected areas system. The solution discussed herein, helped to provide strong social and economic justification for communities and stakeholders to place more emphasis on conserving and restoring the natural ecosystems. It translated climate risks into business-relevant language thereby building an “architecture of participation” (e.g. for corporate engagement and action), climate action, “resilience wedges” and enhanced adaptive capacity.
