Coastal Capital: Economic Valuation of Belize’s Reefs and Mangroves

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.