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Valuation of ecosystem services in the Catalan coastal zone
Doctorate dissertation To obtain the Ph.D. Degree Marine Sciences Doctoral Program UPC-UB-CSIC Developed in the Marine Engineering Laboratory [Laboratori d’Enginyeria Marítima] of the Catalonia University of Technology [Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya] by
Jorge Brenner-Guillermo 1
Dissertation supervisors: José A. Jiménez-Quintana, LIM-UPC & Rafael Sardá-Borroy, CEAB-CSIC
March 2007 Barcelona, Spain
1
Permanent e-mail address:
[email protected]
i
< ! “There is no single, universally accepted way of formulating the linkage between social systems and natural systems” (Berkes and Folke 1998) >
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Suggested citation for this document: Brenner, J. 2007. Valuation of ecosystem services in the Catalan coastal zone. Ph.D. Thesis. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, 186 pp.
An electronic copy of this document can be obtained from (in PDF): http://www.tdx.cesca.es
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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ .
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Acknowledgements To the Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT) and the FordMacArthur-Hewlett Regional Program of Graduate Fellowships in the Social Sciences for their financial support to conduct my doctoral studies. To all those professionals and institutions who contributed with information, comments and showed interest in my work. Dr. Andri Stahel for his review and ideas on ecological economics. Dr. Françoise Breton-UAB and Dr. Francisco Comín-CSIC for their valuable comments in reviewing this document. Special thanks to Alvar Garola for all his time, support and valuable suggestions on ecosystem services valuation. To my colleagues at the Marine Engineering Laboratory. Specially to Tonatiuh Mendoza, Dagoberto Alvarado, Jaime López and Rodolfo Bolaños for their friendship and companionship along these years. To my professors at the Marine Sciences Doctoral Program UPC-UB-CSIC. To Dr. Robert Costanza, Dr. Marta Ceroni and Dr. Ferdinando Villa from the Gund Institute of Ecological Economics-UVM for inspiring me to work in the ecological economics field. To the Mevaplaya Project (REN2003-09029-C03-01/MAR) for supporting my participation in conferences during my doctoral work and production of the final document. Special thanks to my advisors Dr. José A. Jiménez-UPC, who also provided me with financial support to finish this research, and Dr. Rafael Sardá-CSIC for their precious time, experience and effort in the development of this dissertation.
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I dedicate these years, work and future to
My parents Jorge and Laura, brother and sister, Eduardo and Laura, my grandparents and in-law family who trusted, supported and motivated me.
All those who inspired me and probably will let me inspire others.
My beloved Ivonne, the star I have always looked for, and finally found, whose brightness enlightens my path.
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Abstract This study departs from the hypothesis that ecosystem services are becoming scarce by experiencing serious degradation in regard to their capability to provide services efficiently in the Catalan coast, Spain. It constitutes a contribution to the analysis of non-market natural capital in the Catalan coastal zone from an efficient allocation perspective. The general objective of the study was to “assess the nonmarket value of ecosystem services provided in the Catalan coastal zone, in monetary terms.” The work starts providing a description of three main dimensions relevant to Integrated Coastal Zone Management of the Catalan coast: socio-economic, natural and administrative dimensions. The 12 littoral comarcas and their marine water extent to a depth of 50 m constituted the operational definition and study area in this work. The approach focused on natural and semi-natural, terrestrial and marine, functions and services which are not counted in the economic markets. Results provide an outlook of ecosystem functions and services provided by the Catalan coast and available data on its value. The study provided a set of three methodologies which contribute to estimating the ecosystem services value that should be considered relevant in coastal and environmental management. First, it proposes an indicatorbased method to identify the social-ecological spatial heterogeneity of the coast, which led to the identification of homogeneous management units on which valuation of the social-ecological system was carried out at the comarca level. Four different classes of Homogeneous Environmental Management Units were obtained, ranging form highly natural and less developed comarcas to less natural and highly developed comarcas. Secondly, a benefit transfer spatial function was used in order to estimate the annual contribution of ecosystem services value to citizens’ well-being. Based on individual preferences value from more than 90 peer-reviewed studies, it was found that nonmarket services of terrestrial and marine ecosystems in the study area provide at least 3.2 billion USD in 2004 (2,572 x 106 Euros). It was found that ecosystem services when provided by different land cover types vary substantially in its economic value, and this study reflects such variability. Single largest contribution to ESV flow was provided by forest while larger coastal-marine contribution was provided by the continental shelf. To replace the current ecosystem services, at least an annual increment of 2.7 % in the Gross Domestic Product should take place in the study area. Furthermore, it was assumed that the more efficient is an ecosystem in providing a service, the more valuable will be to the society. Thus, ecological, human footprint and fragility indexes were used in the construction of the Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index which constituted the proxy of the capacity of ecosystems to deliver services to citizens in the terrestrial part of the study area. Result showed that it accounted for a positive capacity to provide services and its resulting geography represented a proxy of the natural structure and processes. An integrated ecosystem services value flow of 3.37 billion USD/yr (2,712 x 106 Euros) was estimated. This new estimate represents more than a 42 % increment to that of terrestrial individual preference value. Both valuation processes kept close spatial relationship to that of Homogeneous Environmental Management Units geography. Integrated valuation method was considered to reduce human induced bias (via stated-preferences) and thus provide a more realistic estimate of the ecosystem services flow. By estimating the economic value of ecosystem services not traded in the marketplace, social costs or benefits that otherwise would remain hidden or unappreciated are revealed. Therefore, this work can be useful in evaluating tradeoffs between economic development and conservation in the coastal zone. It was considered that making the contribution of ecosystem services to human well-being and the ecosystem functions that underlie those services more explicit should help motivate policy towards integrated sustainability.
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Resumen Este estudio parte de la hipótesis que los servicios del ecosistema son cada vez más escasos debido a la seria degradación de su capacidad para proporcionar servicios eficientemente en la costa Catalana, España. El estudio constituye una contribución al análisis del capital natural que no es parte de los mercados económicos desde una perspectiva de asignación eficiente de recursos en la zona costera. El objetivo general consistió en "determinar el valor que no es parte de los mercados de los servicios del ecosistema proporcionados en la zona costera Catalana, en términos monetarios". El trabajo comienza proporcionando una descripción de las tres dimensiones principales para la gestión integrada de la zona costera: socioeconómica, natural y administrativa. Las 12 comarcas litorales y el área marina hasta una profundidad de 50 m constituyeron la definición operacional del área de estudio. La aproximación metodológica se centró en las funciones y servicios de los ecosistemas, naturales y semi-natural, terrestre y marinos que no son capturados en los mercados económicos actualmente. Los resultados proporcionan una perspectiva de las funciones ecológicas y los servicios que ofrecen los ecosistemas de la costa Catalana, así como los datos disponibles sobre su valor monetario. El estudio consta de tres metodologías que contribuyen a estimar el valor de los servicios del ecosistema que se debe considerar como relevante en la gestión costera y ambiental. El primero propone un método basado en indicadores para identificar la heterogeneidad espacial de las dimensiones socio-ecológica de la costa y que llevó a la identificación de las unidades homogéneas para la gestión en las cuales la valoración del sistema socio-ecológico fue realizada a nivel comarcal. Cuatro diversas clases de unidades ambientales homogéneas para la gestión fueron obtenidas. Las comarcas varían desde las altamente naturales y menos desarrolladas económicamente a las menos naturales y altamente desarrolladas económicamente. En segundo lugar, se empleó una función espacial de transferencia de los beneficios para estimar la contribución anual del valor de los servicios del ecosistema al bienestar de los ciudadanos. De acuerdo con la información encontrada en más de 90 estudios científicos, basada en las preferencias individuales, se obtuvo que los servicios de los ecosistemas terrestres y marinos proporcionaron por lo menos 3.2 mil millones de Dólares Americanos en 2004 (2.572 x 106 Euros) en el área del estudio. Se encontró que los servicios del ecosistema cuando son proveídos por diversa cubierta del suelo, su valor económico refleja dicha variabilidad variando este sustancialmente. La contribución más significativa al valor de los servicios de los ecosistemas fue proporcionada por los bosques, mientras que la costero-marina más valiosa fue la plataforma continental. Se estimó que para sustituir el flujo de los servicios de los ecosistemas es necesario un incremento anual de 2.7 % en el producto interior bruto en el área del estudio. Además, se asumió que cuanto más eficiente es un ecosistema en la provisión de servicios, más valioso es éste para la sociedad. De esta manera los índices ecológicos, de huella humana y de fragilidad ecológica fueron utilizados en la construcción del índice de la capacidad de proveer servicios por los ecosistemas. Este representa la capacidad de los ecosistemas de proveer de servicios a los ciudadanos en la parte terrestre del área del estudio. Los resultados muestran que el área de estudio cuenta con una capacidad positiva de proporcionar servicios, así como que su geografía representa un subrogado de la estructura y procesos naturales. Como resultado se obtuvo un valor integrado de los servicios del ecosistema de 3.37 mil millones USD/año (2.712 x 106 Euros). Esta nueva estimación representa un 42 % de incremento en el valor de los ecosistemas terrestres obtenido a partir de las preferencias humanas. Ambos procesos de valoración mantuvieron una relación espacial cercana a la de la geografía de unidades ambientales homogéneas. Se consideró que el método de valoración
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integrada reduce en gran medida el sesgo inducido (vía preferencias humanas) y proporciona una estimación más realista del valor del flujo de servicios del ecosistema. Se considera que la estimación del valor monetario de los servicios revela los costes o las ventajas sociales que estos proporcionan y que de otra manera seguirían ocultos o infravalorados. Este trabajo puede ser útil en el análisis del costo-beneficio entre el desarrollo económico y la conservación en la zona costera. Se considera que al hacer mas explícita la contribución de las funciones y servicios del ecosistema al bienestar humano se motivará una política de integrada de sostenibilidad en el futuro.
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Contents Chapter
Title
Page
1 1.1 1.2 1.3
Introduction Background Objectives Structure of the document
2 2.1 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.3
The Catalan coast Introduction Coastal system dimensions Socio-economic dimension Natural dimension Administrative dimension Operational coastal zone definition
5 5 6 6 7 10 12
3 3.1 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4 3.3 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.4 3.4.1 3.5 3.5.1 3.5.2 3.6
Ecosystem functions and services Introduction Review of concepts Functional view of ecosystems Biodiversity’s role in ecosystem functioning Ecosystem services The integrated social-ecological system Concepts in the scientific literature Representation of the concepts in the scientific literature Meaning and evolution of the concepts Framework for analysis of ecosystem functions and services Functional approach Ecosystem functions and services of the Catalan coast Ecosystem functions Ecosystem services Conclusions
15 15 15 15 16 17 20 21 22 24 26 26 29 29 34 37
4 4.1 4.1.1 4.1.2
Analysis of the coastal social-ecological system Introduction Ecosystem services valuation Valuation needs of the Catalan coast Definition of homogeneous environmental management units for the Catalan Coast Introduction Area of study Methodological approach Results Discussion and conclusions Non-market valuation of the ecosystem services of the Catalan coast Introduction to the value transfer approach Applied methodology Results and discussion Conclusions Integrated ecological and economic value of ecosystem services in the Catalan coast
39 39 39 45 47
4.2 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 4.2.5 4.3 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.4 4.4
1 1 2 4
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47 49 51 55 59 63 63 66 69 89 92
4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3 4.4.4 4.4.5 4.4.6 4.4.7 4.4.8 4.4.9
Introduction Methodological approach Ecological Index (EI) Human Footprint Index (HFI) Fragility Index (FI) Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index (ESPCI) Application of the ESPCI Integrated valuation of ecosystem services Conclusions
92 94 94 99 105 107 109 115 117
5
Conclusions
121
6
References
127
Annexes I - Internet pages relevant to natural resource management and sustainability of the Catalan coast II - Non-market economic valuation techniques III - Assessed ecosystem services of the Catalan coast IV - Land covers and sub-categories of the Catalan coast V - Literature used in value transfer analysis of the Catalan coast VI - Technical value transfer report VII - Area of comarca by land use type in hectares VIII - Annual flow of ecosystem services by land used type and comarca (USD/yr) IX - Population, GDP and available family income by comarca in USD for 2004 X - Contribution of comarca’s and HEMU’s ESV flow to its GDP and income XI - Descriptive statistics of sub-indicators of the Ecological Index of the Catalan coast XII - Descriptive statistics of sub-indicators of the Human Influence Index of the Catalan coast XIII - Summary of the Human Influence Index scores by land cover XIV - Summary of PEIN areas’ ESV flow and indexes in the Catalan coast XV - The last of the wild of the coastal comarcas in Catalonia
145 147
Publications, participation in symposia and appointments
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149 151 153 155 161 167 169 171 173 175 177 179 181 183 185
List of figures Figure 1.1.1 1.2.1 2.1.1 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.3.1 2.3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.3.1 3.4.1 3.5.1 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 4.2.5 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.4 4.3.5 4.3.6 4.3.7 4.3.8 4.3.9 4.3.10 4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3 4.4.4 4.4.5 4.4.6 4.4.7 4.4.8
Title Distribution of wetlands in Catalonia Overview of main conceptual steps involved in the study Provinces and coastal comarcas of Catalonia Coastal plains and mountains (A), and coast type (B) Natural interest spaces network, coastal wetlands and seagrasses of Catalonia Coastal zone delimitation according to the Spanish Coastal Law Coastalness degree of some elements of the social and ecological subsystems Geographic extent of the operational definition of the Catalan coastal zone: coastal comarcas and near-shore marine area Hypothetical relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem function where a positive correlation between the two exists Linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being Number of articles on coastal ecosystem functions and services published from 1995 to 2004 Time and space scales of levels of a hierarchy in the Everglades (A). Institutional hierarchy of rule sets (B) Major direct relationships between ecosystem functions and services Total economic value of coastal ecosystems Framework for valuation of ecosystem services and integrated assessment of the social-ecological system Catalan coastal zone. Comarcas and municipalities administrative division Socio-economic and natural regionalisations of the Catalan coast Homogeneous Environmental Management Units of the Catalan coast Conservation HEMU regionalisation scenario of the Catalan coastal Touristic regionalisation of the Catalan coast Area distribution by land cover type of the Catalan coast Land cover map of the Catalan coastal zone Contribution to flow value by area of major land cover type Ecosystem services value (A) and flow (B) maps of the Catalan coastal zone Contribution to flow value by ecosystem services’ type Contribution of flow value and area by comarca Coastal-marine and terrestrial area by comarca Comparison of total flow of ecosystem services to population, GDP and income by comarca Average ecosystem service value per hectare and year by HEMU for the Catalan coast Production-type indicator showing contributions of area, population and GDP to flow of ecosystem services value by comarca Elements included in the development of the Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index of the Catalan coast Distribution of the ecological Index of the Catalan coast Average Ecological Index and ecosystem services value flow (2004 USD/yr) by land cover of the Catalan coast Histogram of Human Influence Index of the Catalan coast Average Human Influence Index and Human Footprint Index by land cover of the Catalan coast Distribution of the Human Footprint Index of the Catalan coast Distribution of the Fragility Index of the Catalan coast Average Fragility Index by land cover of the Catalan coast
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Page 1 3 5 8 10 11 13 14 17 20 22 29 34 41 44 50 57 58 59 62 71 72 77 79 80 83 83 84 85 86 94 98 99 103 104 104 106 107
4.4.9 4.4.10 4.4.11 4.4.12 4.4.13 4.4.14
Calculation of the Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index Distribution of the Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index of the Catalan coast Average Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index by land cover of the Catalan coast Average ecosystem services provision capacity by PEIN area in the Catalan coast Distribution of average ecosystem services’ provision capacity by comarca of the Catalan coast Change in flow of ecosystem services value as a function of ecosystem services’ provision capacity by land cover of the Catalan coast
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109 111 112 114 115 117
List of tables Table
Title
2.1.1 2.2.1 2.2.2 3.3.1
Catalonia in Spain, the European Union and the world Evolution of the population density in Catalonia during the 1996–2002 period Main land covers of the coastal comarcas and the marine environment First three publications or classes on coastal ecosystem functions and services by number of articles published, impact factor and theme from 1995 to 2004 Other publications on coastal ecosystem functions and services by number of articles published and impact factor from 1995 to 2006 (June) Ecosystem services of the coastal SES by class Natural and semi-natural ecosystem functions and services of the Catalan coast Coastal zone habitat and ecosystem services identified in the literature (1978-2005) Categories of ecosystem services, economic methods for valuation and transferability across sites Desirable characteristics of an environmental valuation system of the Catalan coast Themes by dimension used for the Catalan coastal zone HEMU definition Theme classification values by comarca of the Catalan coastal zone Catalan coast land cover typology and surface Value transfer data source typology used Value of ecosystem services per land cover and service Annual flow of ecosystem services per land used cover Comparison of total flow of ecosystem services value with GDP and income by land used type in 2004 Comparison of different ecosystem services valuation studies Gap analysis of valuation literature by ecosystem service Net present value of annual flow of ecosystem services value of the Catalan coast Sub-indicators included in the Ecological Index of the Catalan coast Bivariate comparisons of sub-indicators of the Ecological Index of the Catalan coast Sub-indicators integrated in the Human Influence Index of the Catalan coast Bivariate comparisons of sub-indicators of the Human Influence Index of the Catalan coast
3.3.2 3.4.1 3.5.1 3.5.2 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.4 4.3.5 4.3.6 4.3.7 4.3.8 4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3 4.4.4
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Page 6 7 9 23 24 28 30 36 43 46 53 56 70 73 75 76 81 82 87 89 96 97 100 102
General notes •
Point is used for decimal separator and comma for thousands separator.
•
Billion dollars correspond to billions in the U.S.A. (USD x 109).
List of acronyms CAMCAT CAS CV CZ EBM EC EI ESPCI ESV EU FI GDP GIS GNP GPP HEMU HFI HII ICZM JCR LIM MAUP MEA NHVI NPV PDUSC PEGIZC PEIN PI pop PTMD SES TEV UPC USD
Marine Waters Accidental Pollution Emergency Plan [Pla Especial d'Emergències per Contaminació Accidental de les Aigües Marines a Catalunya] Complex Adaptive Systems Contingent Valuation Coastal Zone Ecosystem-Based Management European Communities Ecological Index Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index Ecosystem Service Value European Union Fragility Indicator Gross Domestic Product Geographic Information System Gross National Product Gross Primary Production Homogeneous Environmental Management Unit Human Footprint Index Human Influence Index Integrated Coastal Zone Management Journal Citation Reports Marine Engineering Laboratory [Laboratori d’Enginyeria Marítima] Modifiable Aerial Unit Problem Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Natural Heritage Value Index Net Preset Value Coastal System Urbanization Plan [Pla Director Urbanístic del Sistema Costaner] Integrated Coastal Zone Management Strategic Plan [Plan Estratégico para la Gestión Integrada de las Zonas Costeras de Cataluña] Natural Interest Spaces Plan [Pla d’Espais d’Intères Natural] Production Indicator Population Public Terrestrial-Marine Domain Social-Ecological System Total Economic Value Catalonia University of Technology [Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya] United States Dollar
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Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background
Coastal areas contain a striking concentration of human settlement and economic activity. At the global level, nearly half of major cities are located within 50 km of the coast, and population densities are on average more than two and a half times higher than those of inland areas (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a). In Catalonia, Spain coastal municipalities support 44 % of the total population and mean densities of 1,324 pop/km2 (IDESCAT 2006); which can triple in some municipalities during the summer season. Additionally, this zone also comprises areas with highly productive ecosystems that in most of the cases concentrate high natural values. As an example, Figure 1.1.1 shows the distribution of wetlands in Catalonia where it can be seen that the majority and largest are located in the coastal zone. Without knowing their values, it should be expected that the human influence on this part of the territory can affect their health and, in consequence, would alter the natural value of the coastal zone.
Figure 1.1.1. Distribution of wetlands in Catalonia (Data source: DMAH 2001).
Traditionally, benefits from natural resources’ use have not been fully taken into account in environmental planning and decision-making. Thus, ecologically productive, multifunction ecosystems continue to be converted into simple, single function land-use types (e.g. croplands, urban developments). One reason to continue underestimating the benefits of natural and semi-natural ecosystems is the difficulty to express the
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overall importance of its functions in monetary terms that can capture the conventional market-based economies. From an economic perspective, coastal ecosystems should be treated and counted as other elements of development infrastructure, i.e. as a stock of facilities, services and equipment which are needed for the economy and society to function properly. However, to ensure the availability of the ecosystem goods and services, their use should be limited to a social-ecological system sustainable use levels. Ecological economic valuation can be considered as a powerful tool for placing coastal ecosystems on the agenda of integrated planning processes decision-making, as in Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). Its basic aim is to determine people’s preferences: how much better or worse they would consider themselves to be as a result of changes in the supply of ecosystem goods and services. By expressing these preferences, and relating them to measures of human well-being, valuation aims to make natural ecosystems comparable with other sectors of the economy when investments are appraised, activities are planned, policies are formulated, or land and resource use decisions are made. Although most of the final demand for ecosystem services value comes from policymakers and public agencies, a number of factors have limited the use of ecosystem services non-market value as a major justification for environmental decisions. Limited people’s perceptions, on which non-market assets valuation is based on, constitutes a common limitation to the reliability of valuation studies. However, it has been suggested that besides assessing value from the subjective point of view of individuals, the objective point of view of what we may know from other sources about the connection should be included (Costanza 2000). This study presents how recent advances in ecological economic concepts and methods provide an opportunity to make better informed decisions in ICZM, and can be used to strengthen sustainable development in coastal areas. The study argues that a shift in the way in which development and conservation trade-offs are calculated is required, moving from approaches which fail to factor in ecosystem costs and benefits, to those which recognise, count and invest in natural ecosystems as an economic part of coastal infrastructure. The proposed approach is expected to have the largest impact in ecologists, economists and especially in ICZM decision-making. In consequence, they will have a clear way to integrate the concept of ecosystem services as well as a transparent and consistent ways to value its services. Making the contribution of ecosystem services to human well-being and the ecosystem functions that underlie those services more explicit, should help motivate policy towards integrated sustainability.
1.2 Objectives This study departs from the hypothesis that ecosystem benefits or services are becoming scarcer by experiencing serious degradation in regard to their capability to provide services efficiently in the Catalan coast. Thereafter, the general objective of the study was to “assess the non-market value of ecosystem services provided in the Catalan coastal zone, in monetary terms.”
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To achieve the general objective four specific objectives were identified: •
Regionalize the coastal zone to provide a consistent structure for assessing value.
•
Estimate the human preference-based value of ecosystem services delivered annually using a benefit transfer approach.
•
Determine the social-ecological capacity of ecosystems to provide services in the coastal zone.
•
Develop an integrated ecological and socio-economic valuation of ecosystem services based on its provision capacity.
To achieve these objectives the steps in Figure 1.2.1 were followed.
Activity
Sub-activities
Definition of a viable valuation objective
• Definition of study area and characteristics • Analysis of ICZM regional context and gaps
Analysis of existent value theories & frameworks
• Historic review of value & valuation concepts • Identification of viable frameworks
Identification of valuation needs in study area
• Identification of regional desirable characteristics of valuation methodology
Spatial regionalization of study area
• HEMU • Definition of valuation structure
Preference-based valuation analysis
• Estimation of ecosystem services value & flow • Identification of valuation gaps
Integrated social-ecological valuation analysis
• Estimation of services’ provision capacity • Estimation of integrated value & flow
• Dissertation presentation • Peer-reviewed journals • ICZM related fora
Communication of results
Figure 1.2.1. Overview of main conceptual steps involved in the study.
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1.3 Structure of the document This work has been included in present document according to the following structure. Chapter two introduces the study area of the Catalan coast. It provides a description of three main dimensions relevant to Integrated Coastal Zone Management: socioeconomic, natural and administrative dimensions. Chapter three provides the conceptual framework for this study. It identifies ecosystem functions as key elements of ecosystem’s health. The analysis focuses on natural and semi-natural terrestrial and marine functions and services which are not counted in the economic markets, therefore marketed goods, such as fisheries, were not part of the scope of this study. The chapter provides an outlook to ecological functions and services provided by the Catalan coast and available data on its value. Results of analytical developments are presented in chapter four. In the first section, study area was regionalized into discrete homogeneous environmental management units by using socio-economic and natural spatial indicators. The valuation of the coastal ecosystem services was conducted in the second section. There, monetary value was assessed using a value transfer approach. After that, an integrated ecological and socio-economic valuation was conducted in the third section. Integrated value was derived using each ecosystem’s capacity to provide services, which was conceived as a function of the non-use ecological value of ecosystems and the human influence. Chapter five presents the conclusions of the study and identifies the relevance of the work for strategic planning and decision-making processes for the management of the Catalan coast. Moreover, a list of management related questions is presented. References to the literature used in the study are cited in chapter six and complementary materials are provided in annexes.
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Chapter 2 The Catalan coast 2.1 Introduction
Catalonia is located at the North-eastern Spanish Mediterranean coast. It occupies
32,105 km2, with a coastline of 699 km long, of which 270 km are beaches (CADS 2005). Its coast has a NE Æ SW orientation and has a considerable geodiversity and biodiversity, represented in their cliffs, rocky coasts, sand beaches, low coastlands, river deltas, and estuaries. The Catalan coast comprises 70 municipalities which comprise the 7 % of the surface of Catalonia, grouped into 12 comarcas (similar to a county) included in three provinces that from North to South are Girona, Barcelona, and Tarragona (see Figure 2.1.1). Among the 53 commercial and leisure ports (marinas) plus a number of boat ramps along the coast, the Ports of Barcelona and Tarragona constitute its major infrastructures along the coastline (DPTOP 2001). Other relevant physical-cultural features associated to the coastline are the El Prat International Airport in Barcelona and the Vandellos II nuclear plant in Tarragona.
Spain
Alt Empordá
Girona
Creus Cape
Catalonia Lleida
Baix Empordá Selva
Barcelona Maresme Barcelonès
Baix Penedès
Tarragona
Baix Camp
Baix Llobregat
Barcelona
Garraf
Mediterranean Sea
Tarragonès
N Baix Ebre
Ebro River delta
30
Montsià
0
30
60 Kilometers
Figure 2.1.1. Provinces and coastal comarcas of Catalonia.
Past and present human settlements reflect the organisation of socio-economic activities. The Mediterranean climate helped to configure the current structure based on typical coastal activities such as tourism, commerce, agriculture, and more recently,
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residential developments. Industrial and commercial activities are strongly associated with the metropolitan areas of Barcelona (Central) and Tarragona (South) but are less significant along the rest of the coast, where other economic activities (mainly tourism) dominate (Sardá et al. 2005). Catalonia occupies an important socio-economic and environmental role in Spain, European Union (EU) and at the global level; examples of such contribution can be seen in Table 2.1.1. The following sections contain detailed descriptions of the socio-economic, natural and administrative dimensions of the coastal system, as well as the coastal zone working definition used in this study. A list of common sources of data and information of the Catalan coastal zone can be found in Annex I. Table 2.1.1. Catalonia in Spain, the European Union and the world. Descriptor Territory Population
Macroeconomic Environment
Dimension
Coastline length
km
Population
pop
Coastal population Gross Domestic Product
% of total USD/per capita
Natural protected area
ha
Ecological footprint
ha/pop
Global
EU
Spain
Catalonia
Notes
1,634,701
89,000
8,267
699
6,525,170,264
456,953,258
40,397,842
6,813,319
4,4,5,6
37
50
62
44
7,2,7,8
1,2,1,3
9,300
28,100
25,200
26,942
9,9,9,10
1,800,000,000
76,635,536
4,400,000
648,065
11,16,12,13
2.2
4.9
4.8
3.9
14,14,14,15
Source: (1) Data from 2000; Burke et al. 2001 (2) EU-25; DMAH 2005a (3) CADS 2005 (4) Data estimated for 2006; CIA 2006 (5) Data from 2005; INE 2006a (6) Data from 2005; IDESCAT 2006 (7) Data from 1999; Singh et al. 2001 (8) Data from 2001, municipalities; IDESCAT 2006
(9) Data estimated for 2005; CIA 2006 (10) Data estimated for 2003; IDESCAT 2006 (11) Data from 2003; Chape et al. 2003 (12) Data from 2003; MMA 2005a (13) Data from 2004; DMAH 2005a (14) Data from 2001; EU-25; WWF 2005 (15) Data from 2003; Mayor et al. 2003 (16)Data from 2004; EEA 2006a.
2.2 Coastal system dimensions 2.2.1 Socio-economic dimension One of the most relevant issues of the Catalan coast is its complex demographic dynamics. The coastal municipalities support 44 % of the total population of Catalonia (2.79 million in 2001; IDESCAT 2006). The coast supports mean densities of 1,324 pop/km2, but this value can triple in some municipalities during the summer season. As shown in Table 2.2.1, during the 1996–2002 period the coastal comarcas experienced the highest increment in population density in Catalonia 32.6 %, while the rest experienced a 7.3 % increment. However, the coastline (municipalities) experienced even a higher increment of 42.7 %, which reflects how crowded is the coastal zone (CADS 2005, Vicente and Gutiérrez 2004).
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Table 2.2.1. Evolution of the population density in Catalonia during the 1996–2002 period (pop/km2; data source: CADS 2005). Population density 1996 Coastal comarcas Non coastal comarcas Catalonia Coastal municipalities
545.4 86.6 190.9 1,281.7
2002 587.0 93.9 204.0 1,324.4
Density increment in period 1996-2002 32.6 % 7.3 % 13.1 % 42.7 %
The seasonal population can reach more than 13 million visitor per year, while the beaches having less than 1 % of the total Catalonia surface can host more than 1.5 million people per day (during August). Therefore the coast has the highest density of secondary residences in Catalonia reaching 50 % in some towns, and 85 % of the hotel rooms. In the municipalities North to Barcelona metropolitan area, temporal visitors versus local inhabitants ratio can be of 6.8 to one, and those to the South of 3.1 (CADS 2005). The coastal fringe is affected by several socio-economic activities, being most relevant industrial and urban development, services and agriculture. Having a small diverse economy, tourism represents one of the most important activities in the coastline and it accounts for 10.8 % of the Gross National Product (GNP) in Catalonia (DCTC 2002). The resulting tourism and secondary residence urbanization processes have contributed substantially to the artificialization of the coastline, with a consequence in the reduction of natural areas along the coast. Among the total coastal land, 46 % is urban, 5.7 % is protected against urbanization (but not for other used such as agriculture), 8.2 % is non urban, and 39.6 % is protected under the regional Plan of the Spaces of Natural Interest in Catalonia (PEIN; DMAH 2002, DPTOP 2005, Vicente and Gutiérrez 2004). The percentage of coastal population in Catalonia is 44 % that added to a higher than the Spanish mean per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are representative of a high developed, populated and energy consumer country (see Table 2.1.1). With a contribution of 18.3 % of the Spanish GNP it constitutes the richest and most rapidly developing regions in Spain (in 2003; INE 2006a). The per sector contribution to its GNP corroborates that tourism has a major participation in its economy, being its distribution: services 63.2 %, industry 26.6 %, construction 8.5 %, and agriculture 1.57 % (in 2003; IDESCAT 2006). 2.2.2 Natural dimension The terrestrial environment of the coastal comarcas comprises 450,901 ha of coastal plains and 280,507 ha of coastal mountains, which configure the distribution of terrestrial biodiversity. Among the several classifications of the Catalan coastline it can be grouped based on morphostructural basis on: (1) rocky and highly abrupt coast; (2) rocky and moderate abrupt coast; (3) rocky substrate, linear and with high sedimentary depressions; (4) deltas; (5) alluvial deltas; and (6) human highly modified coast (see
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Figure 2.2.1; DPTOP 1983). The continental shelf has an extension of 888,589 ha (DARP 2000) and It drops around 20 km from the coastline at about 160 to 180 m deep, although in front of the Ebro River delta has its maximum amplitude at 60 km.
(A)
Comarca Coastal mountains Coastal plain
(B)
Comarca Coast type: Rocky and highly abrupt coast Rocky and moderate abrupt coast Rocky substrate, linear with high sedimentary depressions coast Deltaic coast Alluvial deltaic coast Human highly modified coast
Figure 2.2.1. Coastal plains and mountains (A), and coast type (B). Coastal mountains were defined as slope >= 6.31 % or altitude > 200 m. Coast type is represented using municipalities (Data source: DPTOP 1983).
The marine coastal dynamics are governed by the Linguro-Provenzal-Catalan current which has a NE Æ SO circulation pattern. Therefore the Catalan coastal circulation is a continuation of that of the Gulf of Lyon (Pereira 1996), which constitutes the main dynamic agent of the coastal-marine ecosystem (Font 1986). The coastline presents river discharge and storm-associated longitudinal and transversal sediment variability as a result of these dynamic processes. 59 % of the total storms and the most energetic ones that help shape the coast have an East direction, followed by the Northwest and South directions. The storm-associated mean climatic year can be defined by two distinctive seasons, being October-April the storm season and MaySeptember the calm season (Jiménez et al. 1997, Mendoza and Jiménez 2004). The terrestrial environment of the Catalan coast is part of the Northern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean ecoregion, which also includes parts of Valencia and France (EEA 2003). Most representative terrestrial ecosystems of the coastal zone are temperate forest and scrub, crops, prairies, sand dunes and beaches. Table 2.2.2 shows the relative representation of main land covers in the coastal comarcas, being agriculture the largest surface but the lowest contribution to the local GNP and the opposite with beaches (under the Natural areas with few or no vegetation habitat type; DMAH 2006a). Several ecological relevant areas along the coast have been identified by the Master Ports Plan of the Generalitat. They haven’t been incorporated into any of the existing conservation instrument at present and therefore relevant to this study: the Rosas Bay and Pals Bay in Girona, the Tordera-Arenys de Mar system and Llobregat system in Barcelona, the Vilanova-Tarragona system, Salou Cape, and external coast
8
of the Ebro River delta in Tarragona (DPTOP 2001). Marine ecological communities correspond to those of the Atlantic-Mediterranean Province. Major marine communities along the coast are the infralittoral hard and soft bottom benthic habitats (Ros et al. 1985). Among the relevant communities are the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, which constitute one of the most productive environments in the Mediterranean. There is small geographic variability on the pelagic communities but benthic hard bottom communities show a clear gradient North of Blanes (Girona) and South of the Salou Cape (Tarragona; Margalef 1985). The marine environment accounts for a higher productivity level than the Mediterranean Sea annual mean (70 gC/m2/yr), which is most possibly due to the land and river inputs, especially at the Ebro River delta area. Table 2.2.2. Main land covers of the coastal comarcas and the marine environment. Percentages by environment (Data source: DARP 2000, DARP 2002, DMAH 2006a). Environment
Terrestrial
Marine
Habitat
Surface (ha)
Agriculture lands Temperate forest Scrubs Urban areas Prairies Natural areas with few or no vegetation Lakes, rivers and wetlands Rocks Burned areas Mining grounds Continental shelf (≤ 200 m) Posidonia oceanica beds
247,033 237,077 113,755 73,482 39,198 6,523 5,253 3,628 2,778 2,681 888,589 8,568
% 33.78 32.41 15.55 10.05 5.36 0.89 0.72 0.50 0.38 0.37 99.04 0.95
Costal uses constitute the main source of negative impacts on the coastal natural and semi-natural environment as well as the major drivers of ecosystem structure and functioning deterioration. The local government of the Generalitat has identified that the most important environmental aspects of the coastal zone are the impact by the urban development industry, the hydrologic system alteration, the pollution of marine waters, the coastal erosion, and the biodiversity loss (DMAH 2004). These impacts are reflected in the ecological footprint indicator, which with a value of 3.9 ha per inhabitant it almost doubles the global mean of 2.2 ha/pop. However, Catalonia remains below the Spanish and EU values as can be seen in Table 2.1.1. The ecological footprint indicator represents the land surface amount that a territory (and its population) need in order to maintain its present development model (CADS 2005). This can also be interpreted as energy and materials consumption-disposal in terms of human impact over the environment. It more practical interpretation reflects that a 6.8 million population overextends 8.2 times the total surface and 23.3 times the coastal surface (coastal comarcas in 2004; IDESCAT 2006). With 648,065 ha protected under the PEIN and other instruments (i.e. seagrasses and wetlands with not up to date extension) the nature conservation strategy in Catalonia contributes with 14.7 % of the total natural protected areas surface in Spain and with 0.03 % to the global scenario (see Figure 2.2.2 and Table 2.1.1). However, it represents the Autonomous Community with larger invests in nature protection in Spain. Catalonia contributes to 18 % of the total Spanish investment and during the 1995-2001 period it has experienced even a larger than Spain investment increment of
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48.6 % (in 2001; INE 2006a). In the other hand, only 0.7 % of the surface corresponds to marine protected areas and consequently just 0.5 % to the continental shelf surface is protected. Since 2002, 99 % of the beach waters are compliant with the EU Quality of Bathing Water Directive (COM(2002)581; ACA 2006). Major conservation efforts have been paid to some key species, especially to the high productive seagrass beds of Posidonia oceanica, which have been declining progressively in the last decades (DMAH 2004).
Coastal comarcas
Mediterranean Sea Legend: Comarca Seagrass Wetland Natural Interest Spaces Network Continental shelf Catalonia
N
Continental Shelf
30
0
30
60 Kilometers
Figure 2.2.2. Natural interest spaces network, coastal wetlands and seagrasses of Catalonia (Data source: DARP 2002, DMAH 2002).
2.2.3 Administrative dimension The Spanish coast is not only a complex area from the demographic, economic and biophysical points of view, but also because of the way it is regulated. There are three main administrative levels in terms of institutions and legislation relevant to coastal zone management: the central government of the Spanish State, the Autonomous Government of Catalonia (Generalitat), and the Municipalities. Within those levels, the Catalan coast is governed through two main legal instruments. Firstly, the Spanish National Coastal Law constitutes the jurisdictional framework through which coastal zones are organized, specifically in terms of coastal public property (BOE 1989). Despite the fact that this does not define management attributions to the Catalan coastal zone, it does offer a general coastal zoning schema with three main fringes, terrestrial domain, public terrestrial-marine domain, and marine domain (see Figure 2.2.3). The marine domain constitutes also public domain and it is integrated by four zones: interior waters that constitute marine waters between coastal capes that establish the measurement base line, the territorial sea which extends
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offshore 12 miles from the base line, the contiguous zone which extends between the 12 and the 24 miles from the base line, and the economic exclusive zone which extends up to 200 miles from the base line. The Public Terrestrial-Marine Domain (PTMD) represents the area between the mean lowest tide and the line where the highest storm waves reach in the beach or riviera, or the highest tides level. It could include inland areas with sand dunes, vegetation that directly influenced by the marine environment. In the terrestrial domain where the land can be private owned have been established easement zones: protection in the first 100 m inland where urban and transportation infrastructure and use is forbidden. The first six meters of the former, represent public transit easement (especially for surveillance and rescue activities). In general the terrestrial part forms a 500 m influence (buffer) zone that ranges from the inland limit of the sea riviera where uses are regulated. This zoning schema can be implemented whenever there is no previous infrastructure since several coastal developments are previous to the Coastal Law implementation in 1989.
Figure 2.2.3. Coastal zone delimitation according to the Spanish Coastal Law (MMA 2006).
The second instrument, the Statute of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, sets out the limited competencies of the Generalitat with respect to the Catalan coast and its marine environment (BOE 1979). Although in general the Spanish government manages most activities related to the marine domain (as set out in the Coastal Law), some of the activities that influence the structure and dynamics of the shoreline (plus interior waters from base line) are managed by the local municipalities (mainly seasonal services such as upkeep and cleaning of beaches). Municipalities constitute the minimum administrative unit in Spain, and therefore the real structure for coastal management implementation. As a complement to Coastal Law, the Generalitat got underway the Coastal System Urbanization Plan (PDUSC) whose main objective is to zone the coastal territory under sustainable development basis (DPTOP 2005). It can be also considered a coastal conservation instrument by setting the growth limits to seafront urbanization. Although it lacks of management competences in the PTMD (reserved to the Spanish State), it does in the 500 m buffer zone where uses are regulated and therefore influencing the territorial zoning.
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Following the EU recommendation on the implementation of integrated coastal zone management in Europe (COM/00/545), the Generalitat has launched its Integrated Coastal Zone Management Strategic Plan (PEGIZC; DMAH 2004). The strategic plan constitutes a first step in a long-term move towards a much more rational management of the coast. The main objectives of this process are to express and integrated and clear answer to the main environmental problems (above mentioned); to define actions of immediate intervention to protect the natural heritage and to restore environmentally degraded areas; and to establish an information baseline in order to develop the national strategy of the Catalan coast. The PEGIZ implementation work is coordinated from the General Directorate of Environmental Planning of the Environmental Department of the Generalitat.
2.3 Operational coastal zone definition The coast is the transitional zone between the continental mass terrestrial environment and the surrounding marine environment. Its morphology is considered to be the result of dynamic and integrated processes, being the most relevant waves, currents, tides, river basins and discharges, and air circulation. Nevertheless, human action and uses constitute the major drivers of coastal physical configuration and ecological condition. Most definitions of the coastal zone agree in that it should include both, the terrestrial and marine portions of the coast (see a revision in Kay and Alder 2000). Furthermore, most concur in that it should be defined by the biological, physical and chemical process of each environment that has influence in its counterpart. However, with half of the global population living in the coastal zone, only a few definitions integrate explicitly human societies dynamic into an operational definition of the coastal zone (i.e. the European Environmental Agency definition includes “…and where human activities occur…”; EEA (2002a). The term operational is used in this study as the feature, or group of, that provides a fit advantage for proper functioning (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 2006). Then an operational definition would mean here the definition of an area that can be useful for assessing coastal functioning and managing its dynamic behavior and links as a single coastal system. This approach is believed to provide the management advantage of incorporating the key social, economic, policy and cultural dimensions of the human sub-system to the coastal system value assessment. Figure 2.3.1 shows the coastalness degree of some elements of such dimensions, according to Kay and Ader (2000) original model.
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Coastalness degree Social ria st du In ark p
Ecological r ve Ri asin b
l
n lita po rt o e M rea a st re Fo
W
or y aj wa M igh H
s nd la et
b ru Sc
ty Ci
nt st ro a af Co e e S lin
nd s Sa une d
h ac Be
l na tio a e cr Re ne zo l ra lito a fr In ne zo
s ie er s sh und i F ro g ss ra ag e S
Administrative r ffe Bu ne zo
n io ne at o rv nt z e ns m e Co as e E
M PT
D
se Ba e lin
or aj nt M rre cu l ria to rri e T a se
y or a aj rw M ate w l ta en in t n Co elf sh l ta en Z in t n EE Co elf h s
T T HM LM
Notes: Elements are not shown at scale. The coastline is represented as part of the social sub-system, since it is not always as clear from the ecological or administrative perspective. ÅÆ indicates that a change of order might occur. HMT = high mean tide; LMT = low mean tide; EEZ = economic exclusive zone.
Figure 2.3.1. Coastalness degree of some elements of the social and ecological subsystems (Adapted from Kay and Alder 2000).
Although it has been reviewed that municipalities constitute the highest scale management implementation level in Spain, having 70 municipalities in the Catalan coast makes no practical assessment and management possible. Such complexes geographic and administrative levels are not expected to provide practical advantages to the general view of the Catalan coast value assessment. Furthermore, the assessment of the environmental value at such geographic scale should require a more on site, field, and empirical-based evaluation of system characteristics, which is not the objective of present study. However, data at this level will be considered as desirable when ever existing since it continues to be the more detailed and natural basic mapping/aggregation unit. In order to efficiently integrate the dynamic of the terrestrial coastal sub-system, the comarca administrative level will be selected to form the proposed operational definition. It provides several advantages over the municipalities, by representing a reduced number of management units, by forming historical clusters of municipalities with coherent natural and socio-economic characteristics, and by corresponding to actual administrative units. This view which is shared with other authors (i.e. Barragán 2004), integrates the coastal dynamics into 12 discrete units with a terrestrial surface of 731,408 ha and a mean surface of 61,005 ha. Finally, the use of comarcas in the assessment assures the completeness of the information, since socio-economic data it is only available for 68.5 % of municipalities (those with more than 5,000 residents). The shallow near-coastal environment has been commonly referred as the most productive marine environment, due to the proximity to from-land inputs, processes in
13
the photic zone, and diversity of submerged habitats (Thurman 1983). It is responsible for approximately 80 % of the total marine environment in Catalonia (CADS 2005). This zone ranges from a few meters depth to the extent of the continental shelf (commonly defined as up to 200 m), depending on oceanographic conditions (light, suspended sediments, currents, among others). Although this fringe includes the world renowned coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass habitats, which are not present in Catalan waters, it does include the relevant rocky infralitoral habitats present along the coast (ACA 2004). Due to the local characteristics, the 50 m isobathic line will be selected to complement the proposed coastal zone operational definition. It is expected that most relevant coastal marine processes (i.e. nutrient cycling, primary production) and biodiversity (i.e. 56.6 % of fish diversity in the continental shelf; Froese and Pauly 2006) are included in this fringe that will provide a specific coastline relevant processes and functions view to the study. The selected area has a total surface of 191,484 ha and a maximum linear extent of 20.5 km. Together, both areas provide the coastal system structure needed for the assessment of coastal zone environmental value. These areas were selected to constitute a systemic model of the natural and semi-natural processes and functions of the Catalan coast. Therefore, with a combined area of 922,892 ha the operational definition of the Catalan coastal zone used in present study consists on the interacting natural (biophysical) and socio-economic sub-system’ elements and processes of the area comprised between the seafront comarcas and the marine water extent to a depth of 50 m, see its geographic extent in Figure 2.3.2. This definition will be implemented in the present study by the characterization of coastal-terrestrial homogeneous environmental management units that will function as basic assessment and valuation units in the next chapters. This pre-defined structure will constitute the assessment universe and thus main input in the process, however external elements and processes will be considered based on their direct or indirect influence to the studied ones (i.e. commercial-industrial fisheries operate on depths greater than 50 m and hence only indirectly considered based on its links/feedbacks to sub-systems).
Catalonia
Coastal comarcas
Near-shore marine area
Mediterranean Sea N
Continental Shelf
30
0
30
60 Kilometers
Figure 2.3.2. Geographic extent of the operational definition of the Catalan coastal zone: coastal comarcas and near-shore marine area (≤ 50 m depth).
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Chapter 3 Ecosystem functions and services 3.1 Introduction
Coastal communities must often choose between competing uses of the environment and a number of goods and services provided by healthy, functioning systems. By choosing from among the competing options, it is important to know that not only ecosystem goods and services will be affected but also that society’s well-being will be impacted. Ecosystem services, by definition, contains all “the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up, sustain and fulfill human life” (Daily 1997). Without efforts to assess and quantify all the benefits associated with coastal ecosystem goods and services, policy and managerial decisions will continue to be biased in favor of environmentally degrading practices. Thus, it is suggested that integrated assessment frameworks of the coastal zone must include considerations of its ecological structure, processes, land use decisions, human welfare and the feedbacks between them. If this is the case, then ecosystem goods and services form the pivotal conceptual link between social and ecological systems needed in coastal zone management (Wilson et al. 2002). The concept of ecosystem service value can be a useful guide when distinguishing and measuring where trade-offs between society and the rest of nature are possible and where they can be made to enhance human welfare in a sustainable manner. Thereafter, the main objective of this chapter consists in translating the ecological complexity into a set of ecosystem functions that provide services to the social and ecological sub-systems of the coastal system. Thus ecosystem services will be used as essential and valuable elements of coastal ecosystems in the following chapters. Two specific objectives will be addressed here in order to provide the general valuation framework to be used in the Catalan coast. The first will review the relevant ecosystem function and service concepts and its role in the scientific literature. The second objective will present a general view of the ecosystem functions and services identified in the Catalan coast.
3.2 Review of concepts 3.2.1 Functional view of ecosystems According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (UNEP 2006, p. 1) “an ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plant, animal, and microorganism communities and the nonliving environment interacting as a functional unit.” Ecosystems are commonly referred as the smallest level of organization in nature. Levin (1998) also defined ecosystems as natural Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS), being systems in which properties and patterns at higher levels emerge from localized interactions and selection processes acting at lower scales and may feedback to influence the subsequent development of those interactions. Ecosystem functions have been subject of different and sometimes contradictory interpretations in the ecological/environmental literature (see Jax 2005 for an entire
15
discussion on this issue). The concept has been used to describe the internal functioning of the ecosystem (e.g. energy fluxes, nutrient recycling, food-web interactions), as well as to describe the benefits derived by humans from the ecosystem processes (e.g. food production, waste treatment). From a management perspective and according to de Groot (1992) ecosystem functions can be defined as “the capacity of natural process and components to provide goods and services that satisfy human needs, directly or indirectly.” While, ecosystem goods and services constitute the observed functions that are re-conceptualized as human values. Daily (1997) define ecosystem services as the “conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and species that make them up, sustain and fulfill human life.” Commonly, ecosystem functions and services do not show a one-to-one correspondence, and a function can provide one to several services. Therefore, the ecological structure and processes need to be addressed from a complex system approach (Limburg et al. 2002). Furthermore, the analysis of functions and services generally involves different scales, being the physical scale of the ecosystem itself and the scale at which humans value the correspondent goods and services, thus these inter-linkages issues should be make clear in a case-by-case basis. Ecosystem functions provide benefits to the ecosystem itself, to other ecosystems and to human societies (Green et al. 1994). In a holistic approach, ecosystems provide a multitude of functions which are subject to many possible uses. However, there is still a considerable lack of the many functions and values of natural and semi-natural ecosystems, and humans continue to take decisions and tradeoffs between different land-use options based on incomplete information. In the past decades, the ecological economic discipline has rise the concern of valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services. For this reason, ecologists, social scientists and environmental managers are increasingly interested in assessing the economic values associated with ecosystem functions and services associated with coastal systems (Farber et al. 2002, Wilson et al. 2002). The ecosystem function concept as proposed by de Groot (1992) and used in this chapter, provides the empirical basis for the potential classification of natural and seminatural ecosystems. Several ecosystem function classifications have been developed for biodiversity conservation, integral environmental assessments and ecosystem services economic valuations purposes (de Groot 1992, Costanza et al. 1997, Daily et al. 2000, de Groot et al. 2000, de Groot et al. 2002, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005, de Groot 2006). Among those, de Groot (2006) has translated the ecological complexity into five useful functional categories: (1) regulation, (2) habitat, (3) production, (4) information, and (5) carrier. This classification schema seems to be appropriate whenever an ecological and/or economic value approach is the objective, as is the case of present study. 3.2.2 Biodiversity’s role in ecosystem functioning Beyond their functions within the interdependencies of species diversity, the ecological importance of species results from their role as carries of ecological functions in the ecosystem (Loreau et al. 2002). Species and their interconnections are, in this context, biotic elements of the ecosystem structure, which, in combination with abiotic elements, provide the basis of ecological functions of ecosystems. The biotic elements are, therefore, attributed a central importance for the maintenance of the full range of ecosystem services. In ecology, it is assumed that not all species are of the same relevance in this context, and the general hypothesis relies on that a relative small number of dominant species is sufficient to maintain most processes. However, Lyons 16
et al. (2005) provide good insights where less common and rare species are demonstrated to make significant contributions to ecosystem functioning. Holling et al. (1995) consider that seemingly less relevant may possibly conduct subtle, unforeseeable functions in the ecological network of interrelations. Figure 3.2.1 shows two hypothetical relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem function where a positive correlation of the two exists.
Type B
Ecosystem function
High
Low
Type A
High
Biodiversity
Figure 3.2.1. Hypothetical relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem function where a positive correlation between the two exists (Schwartz et al. 2000). Type A relationship shows a linear dependence, where even relatively rare species contribute to ecosystem functioning. Type B relationship shows how ecosystem function is effectively maximized by a relatively low proportion of total biodiversity, and rare species do not contribute to the maintenance of a function.
“Although there are many unanswered questions the ability of ecosystems to provide a sustainable flow of goods and services to humans is likely to be highly dependent on biodiversity” (Tilman 1997, p. 94). The importance of species diversity in ecosystems is, therefore, based on the fact that species that seem redundant under certain environmental conditions become “keystone species” under different conditions (Schulze and Mooney 1994, Perrings 1995). This mean that a loss of species in an ecosystem or alterations on the mix of species makes the ecosystem more susceptible to exogenous alterations and rises the probability that the system changes discontinuously form one stable to another (i.e. from one ecosystem type to another). Thus, the loss of one or several species can result in the loss of one to several ecosystem functions. 3.2.3 Ecosystem services There is explicit evidence that ecosystems around the world are declining in terms of species and services that they provide to humans (Daily 1997, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a). Thus in many cases their capacity to provide necessary goods and services has been either overwhelmed or eroded (Palmer et al. 2004). The World Resource Institute concluded in 2000 that that within a few decades virtually all the
17
world’s ecosystems will have suffered significant negative impacts from human activities (World Resource Institute 2000). There are many immediate causes of this trend, but underlying these causes is the fact that humans give relatively low value to ecosystems compared with the value given to activities that potentially degrade them. The literature gives several reasons for this trend: • • •
• • • • •
People generally are not well informed about the benefits that come from ecosystems and the potential to lose those benefits under some management regimes (Daily 1997); People assume ecosystem services to be endlessly regenerating; Many of the components of ecosystems are publicly rather than privately owned, meaning that private markets that might give price signals when resources decline do not emerge and that decline of ecosystems due to other economic activity is not factored into costs in those markets (Heal 2000); The economic systems used in most countries emphasize values and preferences of individuals (consumer sovereignty) more than values of communities (Costanza and Folke 1997); Many ecosystem services are not approaching critical rarity, so marginal looses are not given high importance; Many changes in ecosystems have long lead times, meaning that symptoms of decline are not apparent until years or decades after critical thresholds are passed (Resilience Alliance and Santa Fe Institute 2004); There is a widespread assumption that ecosystem services can be replaced cost-effectively by technological alternatives (Daily 1997); There are few mechanisms or incentives for investment in ecosystem services (Heal 2000; see an example: Ecosystem Marketplace http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/).
Hereafter in present study ecosystem goods and services will be just referred as ecosystem services. There is still little detailed ecological understanding of the underlying ecosystem’s structure and functions that sustain ecological services, however, there are impeding progress in their conservation and management (Balmford et al. 2003, Palmer et al. 2004). Several works describe and categorizes ecosystem services, identifies methods for economic valuation, maps the supply and demand for services, assess threats to them, and estimates economic values (Daily 1997, Daily et al. 2000, Heal 2000, Farber et al. 2002, Biggs et al. 2004, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a). Together, ecosystem services meet most of the fundamental needs that humans have, including subsistence, protection, understanding, leisure, creation, identity and freedom (Max-Neef 1991). However, management of ecosystem services is as complicated as managing ecosystems; past attempts to manage even single components of ecosystems such as fisheries have demonstrated the complexity and difficulty of this task (Walters and Holling 1990). In addition to the production of goods, ecosystem services constitute the actual lifesupport functions (such as cleansing, recycling, and intangible aesthetic and cultural benefits). According to Farnworth et al. (1981), ecosystem services are inherently connected to the integrity of natural systems and embody the totality of structure and functioning of the system. In an effort to merge there two elements, Kremen (2005) proposed a functional unit concept, which refers to the unit of study for assessing functional contributions of ecosystem services (article shows a list of functional units and spatial scales for several services provided by biodiversity).
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According to Green et al. (1994) the ecosystem services can be divided into tree categories: services for the development and maintenance of functionality of the system itself, services for other ecosystems, and services that human use. The services first mentioned describe the self-organizing capacity of the system, including the evolutionary processes and the capability to absorb external disturbances (stability). The second, therefore refer to the continuous maintenance of the ecosystem health among interconnected systems. This later concept will be used as key element in the ecological valuation. Farnworth et al. (1981) suggested that ecological systems posses non-use values. Thereby, Farnworth et al. for the first time draw attention to ecological functions, which in the first place provide the basis for those services then directly used and valued by individuals. They are, therefore, in a complementary relationship. Accordingly, the concept of ecosystem services is useful for coastal zone science and management for two reasons. First, it helps us synthesize essential ecological and economic concepts, allowing us to link human and ecological systems in a viable and policy relevant manner. Second, scientists and policy makers can use the concept to evaluate social and political tradeoffs between coastal land use development and conservation alternatives (Wilson et al. 2002). As relevant examples, Costanza et al. (1997) found that the mean value of services provided by functions is 33 trillion USD/yr, and among those the marine environment accounts for 20.9 trillion USD/yr (63.3 % of the total). Recently Alcamo et al. (2005) at a global scale, and Schröter et al. (2005) at an European scale, have developed a multiple quantitative scenario approach to focus on major global change drivers and to estimate the future supply of worldwide ecosystem services. Their findings arise that although at the global scale services consumption substantially increases up to 2050, the scenarios show a positive balance of increasing services and a negative balance of increasing risks and tradeoffs of services. While at the European scale, most changes might increase the vulnerability as a result of a decreasing supply of ecosystem services (e.g. declining of soil fertility and water availability; and increasing risk of forest fires), especially in the Mediterranean region. One of the most relevant developments at the global scope is the framework proposed by UNEP as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a). Although the MEA places human well-being as central focus for the assessment, it integrates an ecosystem function-service approach to human condition and how these are affected by feedbacks. The findings of the MEA show that 14 out of 24 identified ecosystem services are in decline. Only four services are increasing globaly: production from crops, livestock and aquaculture, and carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems. Adverse changes are reported to coincide with an increasing demand for ecosystem services by humans. However, the MEA offers hope by identifying characteristics of coupled social and ecological systems that seem to be resilient and capable of ongoing renewal. Figure 3.2.2 shows the relationship between the four type ecosystem services classification and the five type constituents of well-being classification used by the MEA.
19
Figure 3.2.2. Linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a).
As referred by the MEA itself, “this Figure depicts the strength of linkages between categories of ecosystem services and components of human well-being that are commonly encountered, and includes indications of the extent to which it is possible for socio-economic factors to mediate the linkage. (For example, if it is possible to purchase a substitute for a degraded ecosystem service, then there is a high potential for mediation.) The strength of the linkages and the potential for mediation differ in different ecosystems and regions. In addition to the influence of ecosystem services on human well-being depicted here, other factors including other environmental factors as well as economic, social, technological, and cultural factors influence human wellbeing, and ecosystems are in turn affected by changes in human well-being” (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a). 3.2.4 The integrated social-ecological system Much of the development in environmental resource management sciences since the 1970s has sought to deal with the ecological and social problems, represented by resource mismanagement and depletion (e.g. maximizing of unsustainable yields). New approaches have been reformist in nature, seeking to alleviate these excesses. Although some have been more radical (e.g. deep ecology, Næss 1989), others as the previously mentioned holistic/systemic-based and adaptive management-based approaches are replacing the view that resources can be treated as discrete entities from the rest of the ecological, social and economic systems (Holling 1978, Walters 1986). In practice depending on the author’s discipline either social systems or ecological systems tends to be taken as a given. As a result, a newer goal in most emergent natural resource management systems is to relate the management practices based on ecological understanding, to the social mechanisms behind these practices. In this approach the social and ecological systems are in fact linked and the delineation between them is artificial and arbitrary. Although this view is not completely 20
accepted in conventional ecology and social science, when one wish to emphasize the concept of humans-in nature, the term Social-Ecological System (SES) should be used (Berkes and Folke 1998). As defined by the Resilience Alliance (2005), SES are complex adaptive systems in which humans are part of nature, and the dynamics of both dimensions are strongly linked at equal weight. Unlike common ecological theory which tends to view humans as external to ecosystems, SES explicitly include the social systems into its analysis and synthesis. This relative new concept is consistent to previous classical contributions of human ecology (Park 1936) and urban ecology (Collins et al. 2000). However, mere economic science has put emphasis on the sustainable use of natural capital, SES approach focus on the ability of the management system to respond to feedbacks from the environment. According to this approach, the three levels of services referred by Green et al. (1994) will be integrated into the dynamics of the SES. This vision is also consistent with the way many traditional societies see their relationships with the environment. Several pre-scientific ecosystem concepts are known from Europe, North America and Asia as well as throughout Oceania where they have well documented (Gadgil and Berkes 1991). Berkes and Folke (1998) have proposed a framework to help identify the characteristics of ecosystems, people and technology, local knowledge, and property rights that characterize the SES. New views and tools have helped us to envision SES, assembling models of coupled human and natural systems requires of information on processes (function) over time. In addition, there needs to be a logical connection (structure) between these two systems reflected in the available data. McPeak et al. (2006) points out that the question “is there enough information to adequately model a dynamic human system, a dynamic natural system, and their linkages in a way that captures essential elements of reality?, is often the most problematic in the SES integration and modeling from a practical standpoint (among six other issues related to human and natural system coupling). The SES constitutes coupled, complex and evolving integrated models, which by definition focus on the ability of the management system to respond to feedbacks from the environment. As a result, a SES sustainable approach implies the understanding of system’s heterogeneous functions and its capacity to provide such and its maintenance processes.
3.3 Concepts in the scientific literature The ecosystems function and services role in the literature in order to gain insight of the different environmental approaches that have been developed around the concept and its application to the coastal zone has been investigated. By this, this work also expects to identify the relevant attributes of this ecological property that need to be taken into account in present study. The performed literature review followed two approaches. First a thematic search in scientific periodic publications from the past ten years. Second the review of the meaning of both concepts and how they have changed over time.
21
3.3.1 Representation of the concepts in the scientific literature The thematic revision of periodic publications indexed in the Science Citation Index and from the ecological and environmental sciences themes of the Journal Citation Reports (JCR; Thomson 2005a) being, (1) ecology, (2) environmental sciences, and (3) marine and freshwater biology. A search was performed using the online ISI Web of Science databases (Thomson 2005b) and followed the criteria of, (1) time span 1995-2004; (2) first quartile of top ranked publications by impact factor of the JCR (the last report includes data up to 2004; Thomson 2005a); (3) in title, abstract and/or key words: [coast] AND [ecology OR ecosystem OR environmental] AND [function OR service] (including variations of words in plural and main variations (e.g. coast, coasts, coastal). The impact factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations in the JCR year by the total number of articles published in the two previous years. It constitutes the most used indicator of periodic publications relevance. Search results show that among a maximum of 494 potential articles (gross search result, without detailed review) that integrate to some extent the concept(s) of ecosystem or ecological or environmental functions and/or services (out of a greater total of 17,498 globally) the investigated themes contribute to a maximum of 17 %. Figure 3.3.1 illustrate that marine and freshwater biology journals contain a larger number of published articles on coastal ecosystem functions and services, followed by the ecology theme publications. While the environmental sciences theme journals have a considerable lower productivity on these issue. From the search we can also conclude that the ecosystem functions and services do not constitute article’s main objective during the past 10 years since most do not include such words in their title.
42
28 Title Title/Abst/Key 14
3
2 Ecology
2
Environmental Sciences
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Figure 3.3.1. Number of articles on coastal ecosystem functions and services published from 1995 to 2004. Search performed using the fist quartile by impact factor of the Journal Citation Reports themes: Ecology, Environmental Sciences, and Marine and Freshwater Biology (Thomson 2005a).
From Table 3.3.1 can be observed that the Marine Ecological Progress Series journal of the marine and freshwater biology theme has published the larger number of articles in this topic with 15 in total and two in title. Being the second and third larger number of articles has appeared in the Ecological Applications, and Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science journals. This can be the result of the shared transdisciplinary and applied
22
view of these publications. The inverse logic can be applied to the rest of the publications analyzed, being more specific to a particular scientific discipline/field or specific environment (such as pollution, microbiology, freshwater, atmosphere). However, it is not as clear the reason behind the small number of articles in the environmental sciences theme and the more ecology fundamental publications that could appear to be the proper place to discuss these topics (i.e. Conservation Biology, Journal of Ecology, Ecosystems). Table 3.3.1. First three publications or classes on coastal ecosystem functions and services by number of articles published, impact factor and theme from 1995 to 2004. Title abbreviations from the Journal Citation Reports (Thomson 2005a).
Theme
Ecology
Environmental Sciences Marine & Freshwater Biology
Journal Title
Impact Factor (2004)
Title
Title/Abst/Key
Ecol Appl Ecology Ecosystems J Ecol Sci Total Environ Global Change Biol Conserv Biol Environ Pollut Mar Ecol-Proc Ser Estuar Coast Shelf S Aquat Microb Ecol
3.287 4.104 3.455 3.397 2.224 4.333 3.672 2.205 2.052 1.633 2.255
1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0
6 5 3 2 2 2 2 2 15 8 5
Table 3.3.2 shows the search results on periodic publications of special interest due to their relevance to this study. The search was performed using the same criteria as above and only years changed, since it was completed from 1995 and up to date (June 2006). Publications included in the search where those that either weren’t part of the groups or the first quartile used. Results confirm the interest on such issues from the coastal and marine management and research disciplines, while most general publications, although with the highest impact factor, have not focused on such (i.e. Nature and Science). This is relevant when compared to the publications published on the two top academic science journals on the terrestrial environment. The search revealed that 18 articles with reference to ecosystem services were published since 1991, which is considerable higher to those on the coastal-marine environment.
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Table 3.3.2. Other publications on coastal ecosystem functions and services by number of articles published and impact factor from 1995 to 2006 (June). Title abbreviations from the Journal Citation Reports (Thomson 2005a).
Journal Title J Coastal Res Ocean Coast Manage Ambio Environ Manage Ecol Econ Nature Coast Manage Bioscience Landscape Ecol Science
Impact Factor (2005)
Title
Title/Abst/Key
0.861
2
19
0.520 1.403 0.914 1.179 32.182 0.943 3.041 2.092 31.853
1 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 0
14 10 9 8 5 5 3 2 1
Although the specific definition of ecological functions was not addressed in the publication search due to the more in deep examination needed, the analysis resulted useful in determining the low participation of this concept in the actual ecological and environmental research. It also provided insights in identifying the type of publications and thus scientific fields that are contributing to this issue. However the reasons of such low productivity remain obscures and it is more evident and surprising that environmental sciences theme which should constitute the more applied vision of these key topics as conservation biology and global change. These results are coherent with other authors’ visions on the need of integration of this dimension into global change earth system models and the more anthropocentric definition of coastal ecosystem functions and services used by the emergent ecological economics field in recent years (i.e. Wilson et al. 2002). 3.3.2 Meaning and evolution of the concepts A revision of the ecosystems function-service state-of-the-art should investigate what is their meaning of such concepts and how it has evolved over time. Two main steps have been identified in the lifetime of the ecosystem function concept as relevant to the ecological and environmental sciences. The concept has been applied extensible in biology and any other dimensions at its most basic definition, to perform. Early references to the concept of ecosystem functions and their economic value date back to mid-1960s (e.g. King 1966, Odum and Odum 1972). Jax (2005) provides a complete analysis of the function concept meaning and characterizes it into four main classes which also reflect its evolution over time: functions as processes, functioning of a system, functions as roles, and functions as services. Thereafter, there is a clear an exponential growth in publications on the benefits of ecosystems to human societies (e.g. de Groot 1992, Turner 1993, Costanza et al. 1997, Daily 1997, Daily 1999, de Groot et al. 2002). In a first step, ecosystem functions were referred as the performance action or processes that are necessary for self maintenance in ecology (Margalef 1974, Müller 1997). In this sense, functions were helpful in describing the internal processes of organisms, communities and ecosystem (e.g. inter/intra energy
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and material fluxes from species to metaecosystems). According to Likens (1985), an ecosystem is so complex that is not possible to capture all its properties by one approach. Therefore the utility of this definition in ecology is clear from a thermodynamic point of view, but of limited use in its integration into the SES schema. The second step constituted a switch from the thermodynamic concept to a CAS perspective applied to SES. Thus the system is extended even more by taking relations of an ecological system to humans into focus. These functions mostly relate to the whole system and they determine the capacity of natural and semi-natural processes to provide goods and services that satisfy human needs (de Groot 1992). Since dynamic linkages govern complex ecosystem processes, thus functions benefit the social subsystem directly and indirectly. Odum (1953) is largely responsible for developing this process-functional approach, which has dominated ecology during the last few decades. Since complexity is a relative concept dependent on the observer Kay (1984) distinguishes between structural and functional complexity, being the later the number of functions carried out by the system. This concept has been used to describe the number of benefits provided from different ecosystem and thus its ecological value (as distinguished from its economic and social values). On the other hand, the ecosystem service concept was defined by Daily (1997) three decades after (see Functional View of Ecosystems section). Mooney and Ehrlich (1997) have traced the development of the concept. Ecosystem function, as it pertains to service delivery for humans, was first described in a 1970 report (Study of Critical Environmental Problems), which coined the term environmental services. Holdren and Ehrlich later refined the list of services, using the terminology public service functions of the global environment. Westman, in 1977, simplified this to nature’s services which was finally refined to ecosystem services by Ehrlich et al. in 1981. Recently, the term has been used extensible from the monetary valuation perspective (e.g. Costanza et al. 1997, Farber et al. 2002, Wilson et al. 2002, Farber et al. 2006). Several research lines of action have appeared from this point of view. This vision is shared by several global organizations as The Nature Conservancy (Poiani et al. 2000), The World Conservation Union (IUCN 2005), and the MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a); which focus on the intrinsic value of biodiversity and ecosystems in human well-being at the global scale. An additional relevant and complementary issue is the emerging study of the role of biodiversity in the ecosystem functioning. Holling (1992) and Holling et al. (1995) suggested that the diversity of ecosystems can be traced to a relatively small number of biotic and abiotic variables, and therefore a relatively few species, or groups of species, run these processes and contribute to the functional performance of the ecosystem. Based on the hypothesis that species diversity enhances community and ecosystem functioning and resilience a number of authors have developed good insightful synthesis of lessons learned, in general (e.g. Mooney et al. 1996, Loreau et al. 2002, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005b), and in aquatic ecosystems (e.g. Emmerson et al. 2001, Gessner et al. 2004). Coastal sub-systems such as estuaries, rivers, wetlands, beaches, etc. support several functions and thus provide different services to human societies. For this reason, ecologists, social scientists, economists, and environmental managers are increasingly interested in assessing the value of such functions and services associated with coastal systems (e.g. Bingham et al. 1995, Costanza et al. 1997, Daily 1997, Gilbert and Janssen 1998, Farber et al. 2002, Wilson et al. 2002, Fano et al. 2003, Moberg and Rönnbäck 2003, UNEP-WCMC 2006). The review suggests that the concepts of ecosystem functions and services are useful for coastal zone science and managers for three fundamental reasons. First, it helps to synthesize the essential ecological
25
concepts, allowing researchers and managers to link SES in a viable policy manner. Second, it draws upon the latest available developments in ecosystem and social sciences. Third, scientists and managers can use the concept to evaluate the SES tradeoffs between coastal use and conservation alternatives. A review on information resources for ecological benefits assessment can be found in van Houtven and McVey (2003).
3.4 Framework for analysis of ecosystem functions and services The flow of functions and services depends on how well the ecosystems are functioning and will be functioning under global change. Presently, the relationship between ecosystem functions and services provisioning has not been fully investigated. Most notably, global change scenarios have not formally analyzed the functioningprovision relationship. Although there are well-established measures of ecosystem functions, such as mineralization rates of organic matter production, these are difficult to translate to provision and thus efficiently integrated into the SES model. Since ecosystem performance needs to be measured at a specific one-to-one basis, this is most probably due to the difficulty in achieving a functioning metric or base system. Moreover, functions and services do not match one-to-one. As an example, annual net primary production contribute to most ecosystem services because it measures the production of plants or algal biomass that forms the foundation of terrestrial and aquatic systems. Such links and mutual dependencies need to be addressed carefully in order to value the services provided by nature to the SES, and to understand the provision dynamics under different environmental states (e.g. stress). 3.4.1 Functional approach Present study used the function-analysis framework proposed by de Groot (2006) in the valuation of the Catalan coast environment. The original framework proposed by de Groot intents to provide a land use tool that integrates the functions into the human valuation process needed to analyze various planning and management alternatives for multi-functional landscapes. However, in present study the main purpose of using it constitutes the rationalization of ecosystem functions into ecosystem services whose ecological and economic value for the Catalan coast SES will be assessed. Therefore, function-analysis provides the advantage of translating the ecological complexity into a limited number of ecosystem functions, which consecutively provide a range of valuable ecosystem services. It is also expected to be helpful in the identification of their dependencies by establishing a theoretical framework for modeling such relationships. The maximization of such dependencies through adaptive management leads to more viable environments; also the resulting baseline could help guide similar approaches in different geographical areas. Although Jax (2005) reported that there are problems related to the operationalization of the different concepts of functions and their normative assumptions, the functionanalysis constitutes a true operationalizable framework whenever functions are correlated to services as in this study (fourth definition according to the author). It allows unambiguously distinguishing between those phenomena which are to be called functions and those which are not. However, other problems with this approach arise when trying to couple the social and ecological sub-systems in a practical manner. In SES both sub-systems are linked at equal weight by definition, however in practice social and ecological processes do not occur at the same time and spatial frames. 26
Hence, the first step in the valuation process consists in the translation of the ecological complexity into discrete ecosystem functions and services. The framework follows the functions classification schema proposed by de Groot (2006) due to its services provision capacity vision to the SES, and wide application in other natural resource assessments. Functions are classified into five useful functional categories: regulation, habitat, production, information, and carrier. In this schema, regulation functions relates to the capacity of ecosystems to regulate essential ecological processes and life support systems through biogeochemical cycles and other biospheric processes. These functions provide the necessary preconditions for other functions, and thus are responsible for maintaining a healthy ecosystem at different scales and levels. The habitat functions relate to the spatial conditions needed to maintain biodiversity and evolutionary processes. The availability or condition of this function is based on the physical aspects of the ecological niche within the biosphere, and can be described in terms of minimum critical ecosystem size. Production functions constitute the biomass provided by ecosystems in many ways, ranging from food and raw materials to energy resources. Information functions provide an essential reference function and contribute to the maintenance of human health by providing opportunities for reflection, spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, recreation and aesthetic experience. Finally, carrier functions are related to the human need of suitable substrate (e.g. soil) or medium (e.g. water, air) to support the associated infrastructure. This function involves the conversion of the original ecosystem, thus the capacity of ecosystems to provide carrier functions on a sustainable basis is usually limited. A larger description of the ecosystem functions included in the framework can be found in de Groot et al. (2002). The framework uses the ecosystem services classification proposed by Farber et al. (2006). The schema integrates the general view of services developed by previous works on ecosystem services valuation (i.e. Costanza et al. 1997, Daily et al. 2000). The schema provides the advantage of integrating specific services into the four major classes proposed by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: supporting services, regulating services, provisioning services, and cultural services (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a). This characteristic will allow the value comparison and assimilation with other frameworks/models from other studies. Table 3.4.1 shows the global status, human use trend and monetary value of several ecosystem services by functional class to which they belong (de Groot 2006). The function class attribute relates the original function group (as provided by de Groot) that has produced the current and observable service. Results show that although the majority of ecosystem services are declining, their use continues to increment.
27
Table 3.4.1. Ecosystem services of the coastal SES by class (Adapted from Farber et al. 2006). Relation to function group, and global status, use and monetary value is shown. Global status and human use are indicated by arrows to increase (▲), decrease (▼) or remain stable (±; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a). Global monetary value is expressed in 1994 USD/yr x 109 (Costanza et al. 1997).
Service class
Ecosystem service
Function al class 1
Nutrient cycling Net primary production Supportive Pollination & seed dispersal functions and Habitat structures Hydrological cycle Soil formation Gas regulation Climate regulation Disturbance regulation Biological regulation Regulating services Water regulation Soil retention Waste regulation Nutrient regulation Water supply Food Raw materials Provisioning services Genetic resources Medicinal resources Ornamental resources Recreation Aesthetic Cultural services Science & education Spiritual & holistic 1
R P R H R R R R R R R R R R R P P P P P I I I I
Global Human Global status 2 use 3 value 4 17,075 ▼a
▲
117 124
▼b ▲ ▼ ±c ± ▼ ▼
▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲
▼ ▲d ▼e ▼ ▼
▲ ▲ ± ▲ ▲
1,692 1,386 721 79
± ▼
▲ ▲
815
▼
▲
53 1,341 684 1,779 417 1,115 576 2,277
3,015 f
2
Notes: R = regulation, H = habitat, P = production, I = information; Supporting services are not included here as they are not used directly by people. Status indicates whether the condition of the service has been globally enhanced (i.e. if the productive capacity has been increased) or degraded in the recent past. All trends are medium to high certainty or 3 otherwise state; For provisioning services, human use increases if the human consumption of service increases. For regulating and cultural services human use increases if the number of people affected by the service increases. The 4 time frame in general is 50 years; Estimated global total value is 33.26 trillion per year; a = low to medium certainty; b = air quality; c = decease regulation, but pest regulation decreases; d = but fisheries & wild foods decreases; e = wood fuel; f = aggregated cultural services value.
All ecological services are the consequence of supporting processes working at various spatial and temporal scales (Farber et al. 2006). For example, carbon dioxide (CO2) gas regulatory cycles (function) work at small and rapidly changing local scales, but carbon (C) sequestration services have value at global and long-term scales. Hierarchy is the name that semi-autonomous levels of a sub-system receive when formed from the interactions among a set of variables that share similar speeds (Simon 1974). Ideally, elements of the hierarchy transport a limited amount if information or material to the next level in order to develop more stable and resilient elements and structure. Not overlapping sub-systems in time and space make difficult to develop an integrated baseline. As an example, Figure 3.4.1 shows how physiographic type’s development takes over a century to evolve while human policy and laws can
28
compromise its integrity in just a year timeline. Thus, the variation of sub-system integrity (transfer interrupted or slowed) can lead to structural and processes malfunctioning. Although not simple, to be effective, management must focus on the health of appropriate scaled ecosystems, and on integrating knowledge about the SES across scales.
A
B
Figure 3.4.1. Time and space scales of levels of a hierarchy in the Everglades (A). Institutional hierarchy of rule sets (B). In contrast to ecological hierarchies, this is structured along dimensions of the number of people involved in rule sets and approximate turnover times (Holling 2001).
3.5 Ecosystem functions and services of the Catalan coast 3.5.1 Ecosystem functions The study used de Groot’s (2006) function-analysis approach to determine ecosystem functions, processes and services of the Catalan coast SES. Results of the analysis are presented in Table 3.5.1. Due to the antrophic nature of the Catalan coast, the function classification schema was modified to also include other semi-natural aspects. Only those services that can be managed or used on a sustainable basis were included, to maintain the ecosystem functions and associated structure and processes de Groot (2006). This sustainability criterion excludes the integration of some production and carrier functions in natural and semi-natural systems, since they may involve the conversion of original ecosystems into other unsustainable land-use type. Therefore uses such as, agriculture, fisheries and material use and transfer in our analysis refer to subsistence, small scale, or low impact sustainable activities. Two other aspects were included in the Catalan coast analysis, the functions maintenance geographic scale and the main domain at which they occur. The function’s maintenance geographic scale is that which determines function’s performance in this particular coastal system and can be considered homologous to Kremen’s (2005) spatial scale proposal. This attribute of the function is considered essential in order to derive any further conservation and management strategy and action. It was expected to vary from other perspectives but it intends to serve as a general guideline in this approach (since earth system elements are commonly referred
29
as meta-linked at the regional scale). The main domain attribute directs the analysis to focus on a particular function that is best represented either in the terrestrial, marine or integral dimensions of the coastal system. As in the geographic scale case, it is considered useful in the investigation of particular elements and processes that determine the overall function group and system. Although service list is not exhaustive, examples provided are intended to represent major environmental issues of the Catalan coast. Table 3.5.1. Natural and semi-natural ecosystem functions and services of the Catalan coast.
General function
Specific function
Ecosystem processes
Maintenance Main geographic scale * domain +
Gas regulation
Essential ecological processes & life support systems; role of ecosystems in biogeochemical cycles (e.g. CO2/O2 balance) Regional
Climate regulation
Influence of ecosystem structure
Disturbance prevention
Influence of ecosystem structure on dampening env. disturbances
Water regulation
Role of land cover in regulating runoff & river discharge
Water supply
Filtering, retention & storage of fresh water (e.g. aquifers)
Soil retention
Role of vegetation root matrix, soil biota in soil retention & fine sedimentation
Soil formation
Weathering of rock, organic matter accumulation
Nutrient regulation
Role of biota in storage & recycling of nutrients
Regulation
Waste management
Pollination
Role of vegetation & biota in removal of xenic compounds
Role of biota in movement of
Services & examples
Both
UV protection by O3 (preventing disease); influence on Mediterranean climate (& specific Catalan-Balear Sea); maintenance of good air/water quality (hyperventilated zone)
Both
Maintenance of favorable climate (e.g. human health, food, DMS production)
Coarse
Both
Storm protection (e.g. natural beaches, dunes, small bays or calas); flood protection (e.g. wetlands, forest, rieras)
Coarse
Drainage and natural irrigation Terrestrial (e.g. Ebro river delta)
Coarse
Provision of water for consumptive use (e.g. drinking, irrigation, industrial) (e.g. Besos, Llobregat, Terrestrial Ebro rivers)
Intermediate
Maintenance of arable land (e.g. Ebro, Llobregat river deltas); prevention of damage from erosion/siltation/sedimentation by Terrestrial healthy water systems
Intermediate
Maintenance of productivity of arable land & natural productive soils (e.g. river deltas along the Terrestrial coast)
Regional
Both
Maintenance of healthy soils & water quality; & productive ecosystems; large influence on river/delta discharge CZ
Intermediate
Both
Pollution control, detoxification, decomposition, filtering of particles by bacteria and other organisms; beneficial trophic dynamics; abatement of noise pollution
Intermediate
Both
Intermediate
30
Pollination of wild organisms, crops; advantages of aquatic
gametes
Biological control
Habitat
Population control through trophicdynamic relations
Refugium function
Suitable living space for wild species
Nursery functions
Suitable reproduction/grow habitat
Food
Conversion of solar energy into edible organisms
Raw materials
Conversion of solar energy into biomass for human construction & other uses
organisms by continuous media diffusion (e.g. mollusk larvae in aquaculture)
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Local
Both
Control of invasives, pests (e.g. jellyfish-sea urchin bottom-up dynamics) & diseases; reduction of herbivory (crop damage)
Both
Maintenance of biological & genetic diversity; thus the basis of most other functions (e.g. community structure of sea grass meadows)
Both
Maintenance of wild/commercially harvested species (e.g. sea grass meadows, coraligen & littoral rock for fish juveniles)
Both
Food production by: agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, hunting, recollection
Both
Building and manufacturing (e.g. lumber, decorative rocks, sand for beach nourishment); fuel and energy (e.g. fuel wood, thermoelectric plants & wind and wave generators possibilities); fertilizer (e.g. algae to fertilize crops)
Both
Improve organisms resilience to environment, pathogens & pests; other applications (e.g. health care, algae); high circulation area of genetic material due to the number of ecosystems in CZ
Both
Drugs & pharmaceuticals (e.g. FarmaMar organismal screening, other algae); chemical models & tools; test & essay organisms (e.g. bioassays)
Production Genetic resources
Information
Genetic materials & evolution in wild organisms
Intermediate
Medicinal resources
Biochemical substances & other medicinal uses
Ornamental resources
Biota in natural ecosystems with ornamental use
Local
Both
Resources for fashion, handicraft, pets, worship, decoration & souvenirs (e.g. red coral in Costa Brava)
Aesthetic information
Attractive land/seascape features
Local
Both
Enjoyment of scenery (e.g. scenic roads, housing, coastal/seascape)
Both
Travel to natural ecosystems for eco-tourism, rural-tourism & nature study/enjoy; coast related cultural & sports events
Both
Use of nature as motive in books, films, painting, folklore, architecture, marketing
Both
Use of nature for religious or historic purposes (e.g. heritage value of natural ecosystems & features, small fisherman ermitas)
Re-creation
Land/seascapes with recreational uses
Cultural and artistic information
Natural features with cultural & artistic value
Spiritual and historic information
Natural features with spiritual & historic value
Local
Local
Local
Local
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Use of natural systems for school excursions; for scientific research (e.g. Marine Science Inst.-CSIC, el Far Consortium, Seaman Schools)
Science and education
Nature with scientific & educational value
Local
Both
Habitation
Depending on the specific land use type, different requirements are placed on env. conditions
Local
Living space (ranging from small Terrestrial settlements to urban areas)
Food cultivation and extraction
Local
Both
Food & raw materials from cultivated land, fisheries & aquaculture
Energyconversion
Local
Both
Energy-facilities (solar, wind, water, nuclear, etc.)
Mining
Local
Both
Construction materials, sand for beach nourishment, etc.
Carrier
Waste disposal
Local
Both
Space for solid waste disposal in land and sea (e.g. submarine outfalls)
Transportation
Local
Both
Transportation by land & water (e.g. ports, roads, trails, etc.)
Tourismfacilities
Local
Both
Tourism-activities (outdoor sports, beach-tourism, marinas, etc.)
Notes: * Maintenance geographic scale corresponds to that of occurrence at the Catalan coast; + Main domain corresponds to the principal environmental domain to which a specific function occurs. Spanish terms used: Cala, small rocky bay or cove; Ermita, small oratory site, usually contains an image or statue (not a church); Riera, natural drainage cause or creek.
The schema included 30 functions aggregated into the five classes. Although the rank order of the function classes is arbitrary, the first two classes (regulation and habitat) are essential to the maintenance of natural elements and processes, and therefore conditional to the maintenance and availability of the other three classes (de Groot et al. 2002). However, all of them are recognized as necessary for the SES sustainability. Therefore the hierarchy proposed should not be interpreted too strictly. Ecosystems play an essential role in the regulation and maintenance of the ecological processes and functions whose performance determine the viability of the environmental life support systems on the coastal system. The table has been compiled with a metaecosystemic view, thus processes have been integrated at a Catalan coast regional spatial and time scale (which is not the same as the maintenance geographic scale). As an example, a local coastal plain of a few hundred hectares could integrate shoreline, wetland, and crop dynamics in time frame of several months (seasonal dynamics). Therefore, this ecosystem model allows the conceptual coupling of both dimensions into a single coastal vision. The reconciliation of the two dimensions has the potential to provide fundamental insights on ecosystem functioning at the system’s scale. Although explicit differences among terrestrial and marine environments were reported, most functions are performed in both domains, and only some regulation functions main contribution appeared to be exclusive of the terrestrial dimension.
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The analysis arose that most theoretical functions are performed by the Catalan coastal system (and are evident), probably due to its large diversity of ecosystems. Being one of the most rapidly developing regions in Spain, with 44 % (2.79 million in 2001) of the total population lives in just 7 % (70 coastal municipalities) of the total surface area, it is also subject of several environmental stresses (IDESCAT 2005, Nunneri et al. 2005). Although theoretically all systems have the potential to perform all the functions in the schema, the perception (socio-economic values) and the specific objective of the study will determine their relevance. From the SES perspective all functions compared at equally weights, however bias can be induced in the study either by the over-representation or contribution of specific functions (e.g. basic regulation, habitat and production functions in more natural ecosystems), or the inherent observation difficulty of some of them (cryptic functions such as pollination). The Catalan coast, a natural confluent area, posses a heterogeneous character capable of balancing the representation of ecosystem functions along its natural and semi-natural habitats. Relevant regulation functions include the transformation of energy into biomass (primary productivity mainly from solar radiation); storage and transfer of minerals and energy in food chains (secondary productivity); biogeochemical cycles (such as C, N, and P); mineralization of organic matter in soils and sediments; and the regulation of physical climate. These processes are regulated by abiotic factors together with biodiversity through control and evolution. Therefore they provide the necessary preconditions for other functions, and thus are responsible for maintaining a healthy ecosystem. The coastal system provides a variety of reproductive, feeding and living substrata for biodiversity. As introduced before, species and their role from local to global systems are responsible for most of the functions represented in this analysis (Holling et al. 1995, Loreau et al. 2002, Gessner et al. 2004). The maintenance of healthy habitats is a necessary precondition for the provision of most goods and services derived directly or indirectly form biodiversity. Natural and semi-natural resource production is by large the most tangible property of ecosystems. The coastal system production function or productivity ranges from basic elements oxygen, water; to biodiversity information (genetic resources); to energy and materials for building. From a management perspective a fundamental distinction should be made between biotic and abiotic resources. The implication of such deals with biotic resources renewability versus abiotic resources quasi-static characteristic (commonly referred as in human time span). Although humans tend to manipulate biotic system productivity, biotic resources exploitation should be limited to the portion of the Gross Primary Production (GPP) that can be sustainable harvested. According to Odum (1953) as a general rule-of-thumb maximum sustainable use levels should not be more than 50 % of the GPP (or 10 % of Net PP) to maintain the integrity of ecosystems. Coastal zone’s information functions provide almost unlimited and essential opportunities for reflection, spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, recreation and aesthetic experience. By being a vital source for science and society inspiration these functions contribute to the present maintenance of human health and future cultural heritage. Carrier functions in the coastal zone are probably more evident that any other area, since the water fluid considerable expands transportation capacity. With two large combined international ports and several marinas, it is obvious the established and growing capacity of water transportation infrastructure a long the Catalan coast. However, the increase of this function’s capacity commonly involves the transformation of original ecosystems. Thus, the capacity of ecosystems to provide carrier functions on a sustainable basis is usually limited.
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3.5.2 Ecosystem services The ecological related concept of ecosystem functions was translated into the more socio-economic concept of ecosystem services. This process potentially allows services to be included into people’s everyday life. The analysis used the ecosystem services classification proposed by Farber et al. (2006). Due to its value-driven nature, it is expected to be useful in the economic and ecological valuations of the Catalan coast. Specific services were also aggregated into four major classes which corresponded to those proposed by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a). The relevance of this classification relies on its multi-scale approach and demonstrated utility at global, regional and local scale assessment. In order to achieve the level of ecosystem services provision needed by society we need to identify what functions determine what services. By being based on a provision capacity viewpoint, in this framework is possible to relate both function and service concepts in a dependencies model. Figure 3.5.1 shows major and direct relationships between both classification systems used. Function class attribute in Table 3.4.1 was derived from this relationship model. The model illustrates the more evident dependencies of human-valued ecosystem services on functions derived from ecosystem structure and processes. Dependencies were obtained by theoretically and explicit relationships found in both typologies’ description (de Groot 2006, Farber et al. 2006). Supporting services are the result of the basic regulation and habitat functions. As shown in the figure, they are also responsible of the performance of the rest of the services provided by ecosystems, thus represent relevant elements to be included in the valuation process. Since everything is connected at some level, it is also valid to understand that that several other non-obvious links could apply between functions and services. The model provides the capacity of mapping dependencies in both directions, which also constitutes a further goal derived from this study, the capacity to determine the health of the underlined functioning of coastal ecosystems. Consequently, the role of ecologists would then be that if identifying specific rules for the efficiency optimization in different ecosystems. Accordingly, the model is expected to be useful in communicating managers what functions should work in order for a system to provide a valuable service to society. In addition, current approach is expected to be helpful in the assimilation of services value into other frameworks and models (future developments by the author and colleagues).
Ecosystem structure & processes
Ecosystem functions:
Ecosystem services:
• Regulation
• Supporting
• Habitat
• Regulating
• Production
• Provisioning
• Information
• Cultural
Human values
Figure 3.5.1. Major direct relationships between ecosystem functions and services. Supporting services are necessary for production of other services.
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In order to operationalize the proposed framework, specific coastal habitat and ecosystems are identified under the synthetic typologies. For example, hard rock on cliffed coast is most likely represented as sea cliffs. Once the landscape features are identified, it is possible to associate ecological habitats and ecosystem types with them. Table 3.5.2 presents the results from cross-referencing ecosystem services against some of the coastal ecosystems and habitats found in the Catalan coast. A scientific literature review was performed between 1978 and 2005 publications. An accurate land cover classification needs to be able to delineate whether or not ecosystem services are derived from habitats or ecosystems to prevent the danger of doubling accounting (Wilson et al. 2002). Additionally, Kremen (2005) proposes a functional unit concept that refers to the unit of study for assessing functional contributions of ecosystem services providers. The concept is easily operationalized when accounting for services provided by biodiversity (i.e. species, populations, communities, functional groups).
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Table 3.5.2. Coastal zone habitat and ecosystem services identified in the literature (1978-2005). Supportive functions and structures
●
● ●
● ● ●
●
Spiritual & holistic
● ●
Science & education
● ●
Aesthetic
● ● ●
● ●
●
●
● ●
●
●
●
●
● ● ● ● ● ● ●
● ● ● ● ●
● ● ● ●
● ●
● ● ●
●
● ● ●
● ● ●
● ●
● ● ●
● ● ●
● ● ●
●
●
●
● ● ●
● ●
● ●
Recreation
●
●
Ornamental resources
● ● ●
Medicinal resources
●
Genetic resources
●
Raw materials
● ●
Food
● ●
Water supply
● ●
Cultural services
Provisioning services
Nutrient regulation
● ● ●
Waste regulation
●
Soil retention
● ●
Water regulation
● ● ●
● ●
Biological regulation
● ● ●
● ●
Disturbance regulation
● ● ●
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Climate regulation
●
Gas regulation
● ● ●
Soil formation
Hydrological cycle
●
Habitat
●
Pollination
Net primary production
Forest Grassland Cropland Rock/cliff Rivers & lakes Wetland Delta Beach Soft bottom Rocky bottom Posidonia spp
Nutrient cycling
Feature
Regulating services
●
● ● ●
● ● ●
●
Notes 1,2 1,3 1,4 5 1,6 1,5,7 5 5 8,9 9 1,5,10,11
Notes: Service description available in peer-reviewed literature: (1) Costanza et al. 1997; (2) Myers 1997; (3) Sala and Paruelo 1997; (4) Naylor and Ehrlich 1997; (5) Wilson et al. 2002; (6) Postel and Carpenter 1997; (7) Brouwer et al. 1999; (8) Troell et al. 2005; (9) Peterson and Lubchenco 1997; (10) Duarte 2000; (11) de la Torre-Castro and Rönnbäck 2004. Blanks indicate no data available.
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Information in Table 3.5.2 shows that ecosystem services can be associated with either habitat or ecosystem features. Dots represent potential ecosystem goods and services provided by the feature, while blanks represent no available data found in literature. A good representation of services by group was found in the as metadata in the literature review, especially in Daily (1997). Table also shows how some features apparently provide a larger number of services when compared to others (i.e. cliff versus wetland). However, all features are relevant elements of the entire coastal system by performing specific and valued services. Functional metaecosystems may account for aggregated multi-feature values, besides the un-obvious non-use values that all features integrate from a holistic viewpoint. Features shown on table will input both economic and ecological valuation in next chapters. Economic (monetary) and ecological (i.e. human influence, ecological indicators) values will be used to develop an integrated valuation method of the Catalan coast. Probably the most practical method to illustrate and communicate the ecosystem functioning concept is through the expression of the services to humans that they provide. It has been suggested before that observing ecosystem’s structure is easier than processes and that the structure is the result of the operation of processes, thus can be used as a surrogate (such as depth) (e.g. Zacharias and Roff 2000).
3.6 Conclusions The conceptual framework presented in this chapter provides an ecological-based approach to understand the relationship and dependences of ecosystem services provision based on ecosystem functioning of the SES. It has been used to translate ecosystem’s structure and processes into identifiable functions and services to be included in coastal management plans. The approach provides a qualitative framework which identifies the elements responsible for human well-being on the coastal zone. Results suggested that the concepts of ecosystem function and service are useful for coastal zone science since it synthesizes the essential ecological theory that scientists and managers can use to evaluate the SES tradeoffs between coastal use and conservation alternatives. The framework also shows how ecosystem functions constitute the pivotal conceptual link between ecological and social sub-systems. This allows the conceptual coupling of both dimensions into a single coastal vision which will be assessed in the next chapter. Although the schema included five general classes, regulation and habitat were considered essential to the maintenance of natural elements and processes, and therefore conditional to the maintenance and availability of the other three classes. Since supporting services are the result of the basic regulation and habitat functions they were also found responsible of the performance of most of the services provided by ecosystems. The capacity of mapping dependencies in both directions will provide the opportunity to assess the health of the underlined functioning of coastal ecosystems in a further step. Results in Table 3.5.5 showed that due to present knowledge some land covers provide a larger number of services when compared to others. However, all land covers were considered relevant by performing specific and valued services in the coastal zone.
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CHAPTER 4 Analysis of the coastal social-ecological system
An emergent goal in natural resource management is to relate the management practices based on ecological understanding, to the social mechanisms behind these practices. In this approach the social-ecological systems are in fact linked and the delineation between them is artificial and arbitrary (Berkes and Folke 1998). Unlike common ecological theory which tends to view humans as external to ecosystems, SES explicitly include the social systems into its analysis and synthesis. As a result, a SES sustainable approach implies the understanding of system’s heterogeneous functions, services and their capacity to provide those on which human well-being depends on. A way to assess the contribution to well-being of such benefits or services provided by ecosystems is through valuation. While measuring good’s exchange values simply requires monitoring market data for observable trades, non-market values of goods and services are more difficult to measure.
4.1 Introduction 4.1.1 Ecosystem services valuation One reason for the persistent under-valuation of coastal ecosystems is that, concepts of economic value have been based on a very narrow definition of benefits. Economists have tended to see the value of natural ecosystems only in terms of the raw materials and physical products they generate for human production and consumption (especially focusing on commercial activities and profits). These direct uses however represent only a small proportion of the total value of coastal ecosystems, which generate economic benefits far in excess of just physical products or marketed commodities. Confining concepts of ecosystem value to these benefits alone would constitute a huge underestimation, and covers only the tip of the total value. In discussing values, several underlying concepts need to be defined. The following definitions are based on Farber et al. (2002). Value system refers to group of norms and precepts that guide human judgment and action. It constitutes the normative and moral framework people use to assign importance and necessity to their beliefs and actions. By framing how people assign importance to things and activities, it also implies internal objectives. Value refers to the contribution of an object or action to specific goals, objectives or conditions (Costanza 2000). The value of an object or action may be tightly coupled with an individual’s value system, because the latter determines the relative importance to the individual of an action or object relative to other actions or objects within the perceived world. The value of an object or action therefore needs to be assessed both from the subjective point of view of individuals and their internal value systems, and also from the objective point of view of what we may know from other sources about the connection. Finally, valuation is the process of assessing the contribution of a particular object or action to meeting a particular goal, whether or not that contribution is fully perceived by the individual. Traditionally, the goal of ecosystem services valuation is efficient allocation, i.e. to allocate scarce ecosystem services among competing uses such as development and conservation. But other goals have been identified (Daly 1992): (i) assessing and
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insuring that the scale or magnitude of human activities within the biosphere are ecologically sustainable; (ii) distributing resources and property rights fairly, both within the current generation of humans and between this and future generations, and also between humans and other species; and (iii) efficiently allocating resources as constrained and defined by i and ii above, and including both market and non-market resources, especially ecosystem services. Because of these multiple goals, valuation must be conducted from multiple perspectives, using multiple methods (including both subjective and objective), against multiple goals (Costanza 2000). A range of economic valuation techniques used to establish values when market values do not exist have been identified (Bingham et al. 1995, Farber et al. 2002, de Groot et al. 2002, Freeman 2003). However, each valuation methodology has its own limitations, often limiting its use to a select range of ecosystem services. For example, the economic value generated by a naturally functioning ecological system can be estimated using the Replacement Cost method which is based on the price of the cheapest alternative way of obtaining that service, e.g. the value of a wetland in the treatment of wastewater might be estimated using the cost of chemical or mechanical alternatives. A related method, Avoided Cost, can be used to estimate economic value based on the cost of damages due to lost services. Travel Cost is primarily used for estimating recreation values while Hedonic Pricing for estimating property values associated with aesthetic qualities of natural ecosystems. On the other hand, Contingent Valuation surveys are often employed in the absence of actual environmental use to estimate the economic value of less tangible services like critical wildlife habitat or recreational values. Marginal Product Estimation has generally been used in a dynamic modeling context and represents a helpful way to examine how ecosystem service values change over time. Finally, Group Valuation is a more recent addition to the valuation literature and directly addresses the need to measure social values directly in a group context. In many applications, the full suite of ecosystem valuation techniques will be required to account for the economic value of goods and services provided by a natural landscape (see Annex II for a description of methods). Over the last decade or so, the concept of Total Economic Value (TEV) has become one of the most widely-used frameworks for identifying and categorising ecosystem benefits or services (Costanza and Folke 1997). Figure 4.1.1 shows components of TEV of a given landscape might be estimated by linking different ecosystem structures and processes with the output of specific goods and services, which can then be assigned monetary values using the range of valuation techniques described. Key linkages are made between the diverse structures and processes associated with the landscape and habitat features that created them and the goods and services that result. Once delineated, values for these goods and services can then be assessed by measuring the contribution they make to supporting human well-being. In economic terms, the natural assets of the landscape can thus yield direct (fishing) and indirect (nutrient regulation) use values as well as non-use (conservation) values of the system. Once accounted for, these economic values can then be aggregated to estimate TEV of the landscape.
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Structure e.g. biomass, minerals, land & water patterns, distribution, water supply.
Processes e.g. NPP, organic matter decomposition, biogeochemical cycling, coastal & offshore transport patterns.
Goods e.g. energy resources, recreation, trade carrier (navigation), aquaculture, fisheries.
Services e.g. Nutrient cycling, waste disposal, habitat, climate regulation, aesthetic scenery, pollination, erosion control.
Direct use Market analysis, avoided cost, hedonic prices, travel cost, factor income, replacement cost & contingent valuation.
Indirect use Travel cost, hedonic prices, avoided cost, replacement cost & contingent valuation.
Land cover
Ecosystem goods & services
Non-use Contingent valuation
Value
Total Economic Value Figure 4.1.1. Total economic value of coastal ecosystems.
Looking at the TEV of a coastal ecosystem essentially involves considering its full range of characteristics as an integrated system, i.e. its resource stocks or assets, flows of environmental services, and the attributes of the system as a whole. Broadly defined, the total economic value of coastal ecosystems includes: Use values: o Direct values. The raw materials and physical products that are used directly for production, consumption and sale at both subsistence and commercial levels. Examples include fish, crustaceans and other marine species; firewood; construction materials; medicines; fodder; tourism and recreational resources. o
Indirect values. The ecological functions which maintain and protect natural and human systems and provide essential life support. These obviously vary for different types of coastal ecosystems, but include services such as protecting shorelines from storms, waves and tidal surges; guarding against coastal erosion; cycling nutrients; attenuating floods; sequestering carbon; regulating micro-climate; and providing nursery, breeding sites and shelter to various animal species.
o
Option values. The premium placed on maintaining a pool of landscapes, species and genetic resources for future possible uses which have economic value. By definition, many future use options for coastal ecosystems cannot be known now, because they have not yet been identified, discovered or developed. Examples include new industrial, pharmaceutical or agricultural applications of wild species; future tourism developments; or novel possibilities for resource utilisation.
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Non-use values: o Existence values. The value of ecosystems and their component parts, regardless of current or future possibilities to use them. Coastal ecosystems provide sites and landscapes, and contain a range of plant and animal species, which people value simply because they exist — not just because of the products and services they generate. Examples include historical or cultural sites and artefacts; aesthetic appeal; considerations of local, national or global heritage; or perceptions of legacy for future generations. Many ecosystem goods and services (particularly subsistence-level benefits, indirect, option and existence values) are however never traded, are undervalued by the market, are subject to prices which are highly distorted, or have characteristics of public goods which mean that they are not adequately allocated or priced by the economic market. For these reasons, their value cannot be expressed accurately via market prices. Taking this concept of TEV, which essentially defines and categorises the different benefits of natural ecosystems, we can in turn articulate the economic contribution of ecosystem services to various elements of human well-being. The ability to transfer economic valuations from one context to another may be critical to the cost-effective use of services-based valuations (Farber et al. 2006). Some ecosystem services may be provided at scales at which benefits are easily transferable (e.g. carbon sequestration). Other services are available only at local scales but so general that valuation in one context may be meaningful transferred to another (e.g. value of fish yields). Other local-scale services may have limited transferability, such as flood control value. Table 4.1.1 provides guidance on ecosystem services, valuation methods and transferability of values from one context to another. Markets for ecosystem services are therefore likely to increase demand for ecological information and drive improvements in technology for ecosystem measurements (Carpenter and Folke 2006)
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Table 4.1.1. Categories of ecosystem services, economic methods for valuation and transferability across sites (Farber et al. 2006).
Ecosystem service Gas regulation Climate regulation Disturbance regulation Biological regulation Water regulation Soil retention Waste regulation Nutrient regulation Water supply Food Raw materials Genetic resources Medicinal resources Ornamental resources Recreation Aesthetics Science & education Spiritual & historic
Amenability to economic valuation Medium Low High Medium High Medium High Medium High High High Low High High High High Low Low
Most appropriate method for valuation
Transferability across sites
CV,AC,RC High CV High AC Medium AC,P High M,AC,RC,H,P,CV Medium AC,RC,H Medium RC,AC,CV Medium to high AC,CV Medium AC,RC,M,TC Medium M,P High M,P High M,AC Low AC,RC,P High AC,RC,H Medium TC,CV Low H,CV,TC Low Ranking High CV Low
Notes: AC = avoided cost; CV = contingent valuation; H = hedonic pricing; M = market pricing; P = production approach; RC = replacement cost; TC = travel cost.
Figure 4.1.2 shows the integrated framework for ecosystem services proposed by de Groot et al. (2002) and which has been adapted to fulfill the purpose of integrated value in this study. Framework shows how ecosystem goods and services form a central link between the social and the ecological systems. Ecosystem structures and processes are influenced by biophysical drivers (e.g. weather patterns, solar energy) which in turn create the necessary functions for providing the ecosystem goods and services that support human welfare. Non-marketed ecosystem goods and services are assessed by stakeholders through the development of ecological (objective) and social (subjective) integrated valuation process. Which through laws, land use management and policy decisions, individuals and social groups make tradeoffs will be included in cost-benefit analysis and improve environmental decision-making. In turn and as a result of a close dynamic interaction, these land use decisions directly modify the ecological structures and processes by engineering and construction activities and/or indirectly by modifying the physical, biological and chemical structures and processes of the landscape. However, if a sustainable goal is established by consensus, these effects could be set to sustainable levels by adaptive planning mechanisms.
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Adaptive planning & management dynamic interaction
Ecosystem functions: Structure & processes
• Regulation • Habitat • Production • Information • Carrier
Ecological values Ecosystem goods & services
Integrated cost-benefit analysis
Socio-Economic values Stakeholder involvement
Biophysical drivers
Social-ecological system Figure 4.1.2. Framework for valuation of ecosystem services and integrated assessment of the social-ecological system (Adapted from de Groot et al. 2002).
Another way of looking at environmental benefits has been gaining favour over the last decade among scientists and economists. It is the natural capital framework. Natural capital is a metaphor for the mineral, plant, and animal formations of the Earth's biosphere when viewed as a means of production of oxygen, water filter, erosion prevention, thus provider of ecosystem services. This concept sees natural environment as a capital asset (an asset that provides a flow of benefits over an extended period) (Costanza and Daly 1992). In this framework the emphasis is on the benefits provided by the living environment, usually viewed in terms of whole ecosystems. It is one approach to ecosystem valuation, an alternative to the traditional view of all non-human life as passive natural resources, and to the idea of ecological health. Two interdisciplinary publications have drawn widespread attention to ecosystem service valuation and stimulated a continuing controversy between ecological economists and traditional “neoclassical” economists. First, Costanza and his colleagues (ecologists and economists) published a paper on valuing the services provided by global ecosystems (Costanza et al. 1997). They estimated that the annual value of 17 ecosystem services for the entire biosphere was 33 trillion USD. The paper has inspired the development of the ecological economics field and journal of Ecological Economics contributed a special issue in 1998, which included a series of 13 commentaries on this article. After a decade, discussions on this article continue to arise and just recently articles have been published in the journal Nature (2006, 443: 749-750). Second, the first book dedicated to ecosystem services was also published in 1997 (Daily et al. 1997). Nature's Services brings together world-renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines to examine the character and value of ecosystem services, the damage that has been done to them, and the consequent implications for human society. The book presents a detailed synthesis of the latest understanding of a suite of ecosystem services and a preliminary assessment of their economic value.
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4.1.2 Valuation needs of the Catalan coast Over the last decade or so, the concept of ecosystem services value has become one of the most widely-used frameworks for identifying and categorising ecosystem benefits (Costanza and Folke 1997). Instead of counting only easily observable commercial values, it also encompasses subsistence and non-market values, ecological functions and non-use benefits. As well as presenting a more complete picture of the economic importance of ecosystems, it can be used to demonstrate the high and wide-ranging costs associated with their degradation, which extend beyond the loss of direct values. The recent finalized Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Project was designed to meet the needs of decision-makers for scientific information on the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a). Although conducted at global and regional scale, the MEA constitutes the most comprehensive assessment of ecosystem services to date. It recommends improving our knowledge and technical capabilities in six main issues, being: (1) improve theoretical basis for linking ecological diversity to ecosystem dynamics and thus services, (2) develop robust frameworks for analyzing ecosystem services at multiple scales, (3) develop indicators of ecosystem services performance, (4) understand the cost and benefits of alternative management approaches for the entire range of ecosystem services, (5) linking social to ecosystem change, and (6) develop economic incentives to improve ecosystem management. It concluded that, although attempted to provide a systematic accounting of ecosystem services value, was limited in its ability to do so since too often ecological and economic studies are carried out separately and as a result, the most reliable ecological and economic information cannot be brought together (Carpenter et al. 2006). Consequently, this study contributes to the above needs by developing an analytical framework and methods for evaluating the success of management interventions in the SES. Based in recommendations from MEA, present study raises three main questions relevant to its management in order to understand the relationship between the natural and socio-economic dimensions of the Catalan coastal zone: •
What are the implications of natural and socio-economic spatial heterogeneity in coastal management?,
•
What is the value of coastal ecosystem services not captured by economic markets?, and
•
What characteristics of the coastal zone can predict the capacity to provide ecosystem services?
Thereafter, present study proposes three environmental assessments to address the questions raised. First, based in comarcas the homogeneous environmental management units will provide a discrete but integrated spatial structure to understand ecosystem services value; second, the ecosystem services value will estimate non-market and preference-based contribution to TEV in the coast; and third the integrated social-ecological ecosystem services value flow will incorporate the
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ecological production functions to the provision of ecosystem services. Results of these applications are present in the following sub-sections of present chapter. A survey was conducted to identify the desirable characteristics of a social-ecological valuation method. Survey was performed using a questionnaire which was sent by postal mail to investigate the main needs on coastal zone assessment in Catalonia in 2004. Ten out of 30 surveyed policy-makers, coastal managers and technicians answered the questionnaire. According to the preferences established in the survey, all answered affirmative to the necessity to value the coast in Catalonia environmentally, and 9 answered that the necessity is high. The majority responded that coastal environment has gotten worse (7), and that the time scale in which it has happened varies between a lustrum to a decade in both sectors. The reasons exposed about the worsening of environment were also coincident mainly and the causes were by order: direct use and urbanization; ports and direct spills; overflows of water collectors and streams; erosion, canalization and aquaculture byproducts. Table 4.1.2 summarizes results on the desirable characteristics of a valuation method. However, there is no practical way to implement all characteristics in a personal project as a dissertation due to time and economic constrains. Table 4.1.2. Desirable characteristics of an environmental valuation system of the Catalan coast. Theme Objective Scale
Analytical capabilities
Monitoring capabilities Operational capabilities Outreach capabilities Valuation type
Characteristics To value the environmental and measure the impact of coastal programmes and policies Autonomous Community but with capability to be up-scaled to local level Science-based, inter and intra system complex dynamics assessment, spatially explicit, geomodelling capabilities, based on species to ecosystem Environmental value analysis at different temporal and spatial resolutions, performance and success assessment User/manager oriented, modular and fare upscaling system Communicate results in practical manner and key concepts Ecological and economic (monetary)
The rational behind the proposed studies is to translate the geographic, ecological and socio-economic complexity into a set of management units and ecosystem services to provide a methodological framework to value the natural capital flow in the coastal zone. To the author’s knowledge, present study constitutes the first monetary approach to the value of coastal ecosystem services in Catalonia. The proposed tools can be further analyzed in more detail once a better understanding of the general concepts is achieved by coastal managers. By integrating these two sides of the SES in a single toolkit for the coast (geographic heterogeneity and ecosystem services value), the proposed ecosystem services value estimation constitutes a practical approach to fulfilling the gap between the socio-economic and the ecological disciplines.
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4.2 Definition of homogeneous environmental management units for the Catalan Coast This section has been published as: Brenner, J., J.A. Jiménez, and R. Sardá. 2006. Definition of Homogeneous Environmental Management Units for the Catalan Coast. Environmental Management 38: 993-1005 [online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0210-6].
4.2.1 Introduction
M
anagement of coastal areas under the sustainable regional development mandate is a complex process. Difficulties arise from the need to strike a balance between socio-economic development and coastal conservation. This balance may vary due to the high variability of the primary components of the coastal system, i.e. the natural and socio-economic sub-systems (van der Weide 1993). The aim of integrated coastal management is to maintain a sustainable relationship between the resources of these two sub-systems and their exploitation, preventing (or mitigating) potential conflicts and reducing the uncertainties associated with planning and decision making. However, to manage a coastal region properly, a clear picture should already have been obtained of the expectations of stakeholders and/or society regarding each specific unit of territory, as well as the legal framework into which it fits and the existing property rights (Mee 2005). When this vision is shared and accepted, specific criteria can be developed to accommodate uses of coastal areas, to resolve potential conflicts and to facilitate the decision making process. In Spain, the coastal zone is administratively defined in the Coastal Law (BOE 1989) in terms of a marine and terrestrial zone that falls within the public domain. It is a very narrow fringe of territory delimited on the land side by the innermost high-water level. Inland there is a conservation easement fringe of variable width with different restrictions. Although this implies some kind of management or regulation of activities, there is an overlap with the responsibilities of the regional and local administrations. These factors generate a relatively poorly defined area in terms of planning and management. Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) is a tool to help achieve sustainable regional development in coastal areas. The main purpose of all ICZM initiatives is to maintain, restore or improve specific aspects of coastal zone systems and their associated human societies. An important feature of ICZM initiatives is that they address the needs of both socio-economic development and natural conservation in geographically specific planning activities at multiple administrative levels. Thus, geographic areas constitute the basic implementation locus of ICZM strategies and activities. Many authors have emphasised the role of appropriate territorial information and organized, coherent databases as essential for decision making in the coastal zone (i.e. Shupeng 1988, Bartlett 2000). The coastal zone is characterized by a high degree of natural and socio-economic heterogeneity due to the existence of multiple resources and uses, and its highly dynamic nature (McLaughlin et al. 2002). The spatial heterogeneity of the coastal zone can be rationalised by selecting Homogeneous Environmental Management Units (HEMU), discrete homogeneous areas or units with similar characteristics (for a description of similar approaches, see Christian 1958, Amir 1987, UNESCO 1997). These territorial units should then be linked to a strategic territorial plan, and thus, to active management units (Mee 2005). These units form the basis for research and data collection, and subsequently become the boundaries defining areas with similar land attributes selected as decision criteria 47
for planning and evaluation (Baja et al. 2002). This process of reducing spatial complexity is a way of linking management decisions to the biophysical and socioeconomic properties of a territory, and thus, meets the need of policy makers to access quantitative information on physical areas. To be an efficient management tool, they should also be integrated within the existing administrative framework. To properly define an HEMU, natural and socio-economic properties must represent the coastal system as closely as possible (Zonneveld 1994), and if they are implemented in a geospatial management framework, all the elements of the system (natural, socioeconomic, administrative, etc.) must be spatially coherent. The definition of HEMU is a common task when one is dealing with systems with different environmental properties that support significant human activity. Several analytical approaches have been used, such as multivariate classifications/clustering, factor analysis, fuzzy logic, multicriteria analysis, and spatial overlapping (see Fricker and Forbes 1988, Gornitz 1990, Bartley et al. 2001, Baja et al. 2002, Escofet 2002, Maxwell and Buddemeier 2002, Henocque and Andral 2003, Vafeidis et al. 2004, Yáñez-Arancibia and Day 2004). The most common HEMU definitions have been based on biophysical characteristics such as geomorphology, climate, vegetation, and biodiversity. However, in order to develop an integrated vision of the coastal zone, the socio-economic dimension needs to be incorporated into the process (Sardá et al. 2005). As a starting point, typologies constitute repeatable homogeneous units that are the basis for division or classification into geographical units. Usually, development of a typology for geospatial data takes either a top-down or a bottom-up approach (Maxwell and Buddemeier 2002). The top-down approach to classification is based on a decision tree containing predefined environmental characteristics that is specifically developed for a given environment (i.e. Finkl 2004). In the bottom-up approach, a clustering method is used to identify groups with similar environmental characteristics. A variation on bottom-up classification is the regionalisation approach, which locates spatially contiguous class members after clustering without attention to spatial location (Harff and Davis 1990). Regions, which constitute a unique discrete system, become planning units and can be identified by a specific valuable quantifiable phenomenon. A combination of structural and functional typologies can determine the specific processes that constitute individual management regions. A review of the biophysical characteristics used for the classification of coastal and marine environments can be found in Finkl (2004). The analytical process leading to regionalisation can be divided into two discretization strategies: hierarchical unit grouping and segmenting (YáñezArancibia and Day 2004). These two approaches tend to give rise to regions based on a hierarchical criterion of belonging to a higher scale unit; thus, units can be identified as either belonging to a higher region or forming one (Escofet 2002). The interactions between the individual regions should determine the territorial planning schema that management needs for the process of reconciling the natural and socio-economic subsystems. Due to the difficulties associated with this data-driven process, most planning instruments, such as assessment and evaluation, lack this framework. As a useful working concept, the ecosystem approach has been defined to help in the process of setting environmental management boundaries (CBD 1999). Large-scale applications of this approach can be found in the different global proposals for environmental regionalisation, such as the large marine ecosystems of the world (Sherman and Alexander 1986) and the environmental land units of the European ecological regions proposals (EEA 2003). This approach recognises the dynamics and complexity of ecosystems in order to provide an analytical framework for the development of managerial strategies (Rappaport 1999). An example of regionalisation is the use of river basins to define management units for use in a variety of approaches 48
(i.e. Yáñez-Arancibia and Day 2004). This approach is used in the European Union (EU) to apply the European Directive on Water Policy (EC 2000). Although this approach is logical for the management of continental waters, its application to the coastal zone is more limited since it lacks a corresponding geographical structure in the marine domain. For example, in Catalonia the presence of only two large river basins means that this approach would not fully reflect the spatial variability of coastal properties. Consequently, it has to be reduced to smaller units to be a viable framework through which to develop management plans (DMAH 2004). When active administrative management units already exist in the coastal zone, an alternative approach is the inclusion of the environmental values in the existing structure to provide an integrated model (Walpole 1998, Barragán 2004, Sardá et al. 2005). The need for a detailed identification of management units on a larger scale has led to the development of regional initiatives based on detailed analysis and maps. Few studies have used a combination of the two scales to perform an HEMU regionalisation, due to the difficulty of integration in the ecosystem approach (Yáñez-Arancibia and Day 2004). Indicator-based assessment and evaluation has commonly been used to track the performance and progress of ICZM plans and programmes from a local to a national scale (Burbridge 1997, Belfiore 2003, Henocque 2003, and references therein). Several methods that incorporate multidimensional analysis have been used in the development of coastal classifications and indices. As an example, Gornitz (1990) used a combination of methods ranging from geometric means to factor analysis for classification of vulnerability and generation of indices. For coastal indicators to be effective in ICZM, it is necessary to demonstrate progress and results in a comparable manner across spatial scales and management levels (Belfiore 2003). Several issues related to the scale problem have been identified in previous research, the modifiable aerial unit problem (MAUP) being one of the most notable. MAUP appears in spatially averaged studies when units are subdivided into smaller non-overlapping units such that intrinsic geographical meaning is absent (Openshaw 1984). It has major implications in two areas: (1) the number of aerial divisions of a unit that can be performed, and (2) the data aggregation at different resolutions (Bian 1997, Cao and Lam 1997). Although several solutions have been proposed, the main uncertainty arises when geospatial data is scale dependent (Cao and Lam 1997, Marceau 1999). Its importance increases with increasing spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the coast, and the difficulty of combining natural and socio-economic sub-system indicators in the assessment process further complicates the final situation. Consequently, methodological difficulties are presented for the implementation of regional or national strategies at a local level. The main aim of this paper is to present a method for classification of the coastal zone into regions by defining HEMU. One of the characteristics of the approach is that these units are integrated within the administrative framework and can therefore be used as management units for implementing ICZM initiatives. The method is applied to the Catalan coast of Spain to identify management units in which specific planning strategies such as the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Strategic Plan (PEGIZC; DMAH 2004) and activities can be implemented according to the socio-economic and natural characteristics of the territory. 4.2.2 Area of study The Catalan coast is one of the richest and most rapidly developing regions in Spain. Of the total population of Catalonia, 44% (2.79 million in 2001) lives in just 7% (70 municipalities) of the total surface area (IDESCAT 2005). The coastline is 699 km long 49
and includes a wide variety of temperate coastal systems. This results in considerable geomorphological and biological diversity. Figure 4.2.1 shows the administrative regions of the Catalan coastal area. Past and present human settlements reflect the organisation of socio-economic activities. The Mediterranean climate helped to configure the current structure based on typical coastal activities such as tourism, commerce, agriculture, and more recently, residential developments. Industrial and commercial activities are strongly associated with the metropolitan areas of Barcelona (Central) and Tarragona (South) but are less significant along the rest of the coast, where other economic activities (mainly tourism) dominate (Sardá et al. 2005).
Spain Alt Empordà lt m A E op rd à
Catalonia
Baix Empordà ai E B x m orp dà
Selva el av S
Barcelona Baix Llobregat
Maresme a esr m M e
Barcelonès
Baix Penedès
N
ar ce onl ès B
Garraf ai L B x ol bre ag t
Tarragonès ai P B x en ed ès
Baix Camp
a ra f G
ai C B x am p
Mediterranean Sea
ar rag on ès T
Baix Ebre ai E B x rb e
Montsià
Ebro River delta
30
0
30
60 Kilometers
o tsn ià M
Figure 4.2.1. Catalan coastal zone. Comarcas and municipalities administrative division.
The Spanish coast is not only a complex area from a physical, demographic, and economic point of view, but also because of the way it is regulated. There are three administrative levels in terms of institutions and legislation: the central government of Spain, the regional government of Catalonia, and the municipalities. Within those levels, the Catalan coast is governed through two main legal instruments. Firstly, the Spanish National Coastal Law constitutes the jurisdictional framework through which coastal zones are organized, specifically in terms of coastal public property (BOE 1989). Despite the fact that this does not define management attributions to the Catalan coastal zone, it does offer a general coastal zoning schema, as mentioned previously. The second instrument, the Statute of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, sets out the limited competencies of the Generalitat (regional government) with respect to the Catalan coast and its marine environment (BOE 1979). Although in general the Spanish government manages most activities related to the marine domain (as set out in the Coastal Law), some of the activities (mainly seasonal services such as upkeep and cleaning of beaches) that influence the structure and dynamics of the shoreline (plus interior waters from base line) are managed by the local municipalities, which constitute the minimum administrative and management implementation unit. Following the EU recommendation on the implementation of integrated coastal zone 50
management in Europe (COM/00/545), the Generalitat has already launched PEGIZC (DMAH 2004). This strategic plan constitutes a first step in a long-term move towards a much more rational management of the coast. However, due to the diversity of the biophysical and socio-economic dimensions of the Catalan coast, it is difficult to implement without an HEMU schema. Although the importance of discrete planning units was stated in the objectives of the Catalan Agenda 21, the existing division of legal and administrative responsibilities may account for the lack of an effective HEMU framework. There is a mismatch between the administrative units in the terrestrial and marine domains of the coastal zone. Whereas in the terrestrial part there is a clear spatial structure based on municipalities, no equivalent division exists in the marine domain. Furthermore, data with which to characterize the status of the marine portion are scarce and heterogeneously distributed in comparison with a well-monitored terrestrial system. Moreover, most of the environmental status of the coastal zone is affected and/or controlled by activities that take place in the terrestrial domain, such as urban development and tourism (Nunneri et al. 2005). Consequently, the scope of the present study is to identify inland territorial units with homogeneous characteristics in which coastal managers have responsibilities and in which they can develop a planning schema of priorities and implement strategies. Specific typologies developed by scientific and management communities have been used in previous planning efforts. Such classifications are commonly based on a single characteristic and have linear features. The Master Ports Plan of the Generalitat is the most comprehensive coastal study undertaken in Catalonia. It proposed a division of the coast into 21 continuous sectors based on homogeneous coastline typologies, later classified into six geomorphological coastal types (DPTOP 1983). A more recent initiative is the Oil Spill Prevention Plan, which assessed the vulnerability of the previous 21 coastal sectors based on the composition of their benthic communities. The criteria of the plan are (1) exposure to marine hydrodynamics, (2) functional value per se for the ecosystem, (3) rarity and (4) ecological resilience (CAMCAT; DMAH 2003). Other landscape units have been identified through a region-specific analysis, i.e. the environmental transformation of the northern Catalan coast or Costa Brava. Although units were defined using an aggregation criterion of the geomorphology matrix based on current human perception of such landscapes (Nogué 2004), classifications were restricted to one dimension (i.e. the natural environment) and lacked aspects of integration with socio-economic activities. In the neighbouring French Mediterranean, the coast has been divided into 50 homogeneous zones within the context of the Master Plan for the Development and Management of Water (SDAGE; RCM-Comite de Bassin 1995, Henocque and Andral 2003). Although the divisions are based on coastal geomorphology, they have been used by the regional water agency for more than 10 years to monitor water quality. 4.2.3 Methodological approach The Geographic Information System In order to develop an HEMU-based regionalisation, the terrestrial coastal sub-system was divided into natural (biophysical) and socio-economic dimensions according to the generally accepted ICZM framework. Due to the heterogeneity of this area and the need to incorporate the environmental structure and function effectively, a regional, sub-national cartographic scale between 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 was chosen for the purpose of the study according to UNEP (1995) recommendations. 51
The complex nature of the coast presents a challenge for the determination of appropriate structures for use when analytical and information frameworks are needed. This multidimensional spatial complexity can be addressed more efficiently with the aid of geographic information systems (GIS; Shupeng 1988, Bartlett 2000, among others). Since the representation of a system’s elements is an important factor for the organization of databases, GIS have been widely used to integrate topological terrestrial and marine data models for studies of coastal zones. However, GIS also face problems in effectively representing the coast (Mueller et al. 2002), and data model and structure have been identified by Bartlett (2000) as the two major concerns in the development of a coastal information system. Most existing studies of coastal area classification use the shoreline as the basic representation unit. In this shoreline-oriented approach, the explicit spatial structure of system properties and dynamics is lost, and only the resulting classification is retained. This is equivalent to assigning the entire properties of the coastal area to a given length of shoreline without maintaining the original spatial reference (see DPTOP 1983, Fricker and Forbes 1988, Maxwell and Buddemeier 2002, DMAH 2003, Vafeidis et al. 2004). However, linear-feature models are commonly used in coastal mapping and analysis (Shupeng 1988), based on the common perception of the coast as a linear entity, which assumes that its two horizontal dimensions are essentially equivalent (Goodchild 2000). This represents one of the main limitations of the data model, which fails to address problems of variable spatial resolution of coastal data (Vafeidis et al. 2004). The aim of the present study is to develop a framework of geospatial coastal units that can be used in integrated management and that extends beyond the shoreline level. Due to the spatial scale of the relevant elements and the management model that will be implemented in Catalonia, the management units are based on a polygon data model in which discrete units represent sub-systems whose processes and functions (including morphometric capabilities) can be subject to assessment, modelling, and monitoring (Bartlett 2000). Few thematic mapping efforts have been undertaken in Catalonia. Although the descriptors were created from the available data (published mainly by the local government) some of the spatial representations were developed by the Coastal Management Area of the LIM-UPC. To incorporate them into the Catalan Coastal GIS (which began to be developed in 2003 using ArcView™ v3.x software from ESRI), spatial data layers obeyed quality standardisation processes for format, scale and metadata. Environmental descriptors It was assumed that variations in the environmental state (or health) of the coastal zone are controlled by spatial and temporal variations in the characteristics and processes of the system. Such changes are the result of interactions between human and biophysical sub-systems (UNESCO 1997, DMAH 2004, Vafeidis et al. 2004). These interactions are considered within the Catalan PEGIZC by focusing on five of the seven specific objectives: consolidation of undeveloped land, sustainable land use, land-derived marine pollution, erosion mitigation, and biodiversity conservation (DMAH 2004). Themes were chosen on the basis of their independent capacity to represent the coastal issues and were used to build up a data-driven classification process (bottom-up). As in the case of indicators, a reduced number of variables is desirable for prediction of the environmental state (Meentemeyer and Box 1987). The idea is to reproduce most of the system dynamics with a minimum number of descriptor criteria. Thus selected themes represent the demographics, economy, geographic and biological diversity, water resources and coastal geomorphology of the Catalan coast. 52
A total of eleven geospatial themes were selected according to their conceptual, environment-specific contributions as quantifiable phenomena of the dynamic coastal sub-system and the quality of the available data. The quality-control schema was based on the following criteria: (1) 1:50,000 sub-national cartographic scale or larger, (2) whether the source was official or not, and (3) data update criteria. Table 4.2.1 shows the themes used and their descriptors, the spatial scale and the year the data were gathered. Table 4.2.1. Themes by dimension used for the Catalan coastal zone HEMU definition. Dimension
Theme
Cartographic Scale
Year
Population size
50,000
2004
Inhabitants count
Populationon growth
50,000
2001
Mean anual rate
50,000
1996
Euros at market price
Accommodation coefficient
50,000
2002
Hotel beds by population
Impervious surface
50,000
2003
Urban area & infrastructure
Natural protected area
25,000
2004
Protected areas & wetlands surface
Geomorphologic relevance
50,000
2002
Areas surface
Vegetation condition
25,000
2004
Naturalness, diversity & rarity
Landscape transformation
50,000
2004
Environmental degradation
Running water condition
50,000
2003
River flow and quality
Socio-economic Gross National Product
Natural
Descriptor (s)
1
1
1
1
1,2
3
3
4
3
3,5
Coastal geomorphology and Coastal geomorphology
50,000
1983
dynamics
6
Source: (1) Catalan Statistics Institute (IDESCAT-GenCat); (2) Blanes Advance Studies Center (CEAB-CSIC); (3) Department of Environment and Housing of the Catalan Government (DMAH-GenCat); (4) Plant Biology Department of the University of Barcelona (UB); (5) Water Catalan Agency (ACA-GenCat); (6) Department of Land Policy and Public Works (DPTOP-GenCat).
Within the socio-economic dimension, the gross national product (GNP) was the most robust indicator, due to its capacity to integrate several elements of economic development, even though it was the least up-to-date dataset. The tourist industry is considered the most significant environmental influence on the Catalan coast (Sardá an others 2005); thus, the accommodation coefficient was included as a relevant socioeconomic factor. The group of themes corresponding to the environmental dimension coincided with the main institutional and governmental environmental concerns in Catalonia (loss of biodiversity, fresh and marine water quality, and habitat condition and transformation). The natural dimension themes were incorporated at the municipality level. However, the natural protected area and the geomorphological relevance themes were incorporated at the landward 200 m fringe. This approach tried to capture the functional processes that comprise the strip 200 m inland from the shoreline in order to capture the coastal dynamics; this characteristic guards against overestimation of real conservation and the condition of coastal resources. The 200 m strip constitutes the coastal conservation easement zone indicated in the Spanish Coastal Law (BOE 53
1989). The natural geospatial features were incorporated into the GIS using the original minimal mapping unit (as provided by the source, i.e. raw polygons), be they polygons, lines or points, and were later aggregated at the municipality level. Municipalities are the smallest official geographical management unit and they constitute the highest administrative implementation level, and therefore, the most effective planning unit for ICZM (Sardá et al. 2005). In contrast, the themes corresponding to the socio-economic dimension were georeferenced to the comarca (a territorial unit comparable to a county), since this constitutes the highest administrative level for which there is complete and official statistical data, and because comarcas are recognised as a real and practical administrative territorial unit in Catalonia, as well as in the rest of Spain, thereby providing an accepted spatial framework. Comarcas are groups of municipalities (cluster), and they were selected because a large part of the socioeconomic data available is only complete for 68.5% of municipalities (those with more than 5,000 residents). Themes were spatially combined using the GIS to produce an ordinal pseudo-indicator of a specific desirable condition of each theme. The resulting continuous real number scale for each theme was numerically aggregated into an arbitrary four-way classification, whether or not it was originally on an ordinal scale. Gornitz (1990) and Gornitz et al. (1994) used a similar approach to develop indices of several coastal characteristics that were aggregated into a vulnerability index using a linear model. The classification method used the Jenks optimisation, which identifies break points between classes by minimising the sum of the variance within each of the classes (Jenks 1967). This method identifies groupings and patterns inherent in the data and produces a more objective aggregate representation of spatial variability, thus providing a valuable tool with which to explore and represent data by minimising its natural variation (Smith 1986). Data aggregation method The natural themes considered in the analysis (Table 4.2.1) were aggregated at the level of the comarca to be spatially coherent and consistent with the socio-economic data scale. An aggregation method based on a weighted average was used to represent the contribution of the surface area of coastal municipalities to the comarca level for the natural dimension themes (see Gornitz 1990 for a discussion of data aggregation methods). This met the requirement to establish a common spatial framework and prevented inferences from higher to lower levels of analysis that are associated with the ecological fallacy (Alker 1969, Cao and Lam 1997). Comarcas constitute true physical management units, since they are based on the common historical, cultural and administrative characteristics of their constituent municipalities. They are therefore important in ICZM planning and monitoring of the Spanish coast (Barragán 2004). Regionalisation process Theme typologies were used to develop a specific regionalisation map for each dimension. The algebraic sum of individual themes represented the contribution of the individual natural and socio-economic regionalisation of the Catalan coast. The thematic map of each dimension represents an independent view of the territory, and together they constitute the main input for the integrated regionalisation process. The following criteria form the basis of the HEMU definitions:
54
• • • • •
They should follow the principles proposed in the EU recommendation concerning the implementation of integrated coastal zone management in Europe (EC 2002). They should constitute local administrative (management) units. They should be based on real, natural, biophysical data. They should integrate and reflect the principal existing structure and functional processes of the coastal environment. They should be derived from a combination of independent characteristics that remain constant over time (wherever possible).
The natural and socio-economic rationalizations were aggregated to form the final HEMU map. The aggregation process obeyed certain algebraic combination rules. The final regional HEMU map was produced using four category units for the twelve comarcas of the Catalan coast. An additional analytical phase defined spatial modelling rules to determine criteria for a proposed natural coastal resources conservation scenario. 4.2.4 Results The implementation of the Catalan ICZM strategic plan requires a territory-based spatial framework, which in this case is based on the definition of HEMU. Although the coastal system consists of several different dimensions that determine its stability and health, only two are used in this study: the socio-economic and natural dimensions. It was assumed that the Catalan coastal zone could be defined for management purposes in terms of these two dimensions, consisting of five and six themes respectively that were incorporated in the GIS at cartographic scales of 1:25,000 to 1:50,000 (see Table 4.2.1). Table 4.2.2 shows the values generated by classifying Catalan coastal comarcas using the Jenks method for each theme and dimension. This classification is based on results given in terms of ordinal classes, where the maximum value (four) indicates the highest relevance of the characteristic and the minimum (one) indicates the lowest relevance. Table 4.2.2 also shows the surface area (in hectares) of the comarcas and provinces to indicate the relative geographical contribution of the themes in the regionalisation process.
55
Table 4.2.2. Theme classification values by comarca of the Catalan coastal zone. Socio-economic
Comarca
Natural
Province
Has
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
Alt Empordà
Girona
135697
1
2
1
3
1
3
3
4
4
2
1
Baix Empordà
Girona
70016
1
2
1
3
2
2
2
3
3
2
1
Selva
Girona
99537
1
3
1
4
1
2
1
3
3
2
1
Maresme
Barcelona
40049
2
3
2
2
2
1
2
3
3
2
3
Barcelonès
Barcelona
14463
4
1
4
1
4
1
2
2
1
2
2
Baix Llobregat
Barcelona
48664
3
2
3
1
3
2
2
3
2
2
4
Garraf
Barcelona
18503
1
4
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
2
3
Baix Penedès
Tarragona
29618
1
4
1
2
2
1
1
3
2
1
3
Tarragonès
Tarragona
31931
1
2
2
3
3
2
2
3
2
2
2
Baix Camp
Tarragona
69633
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
4
3
1
3
Baix Ebre
Tarragona
100212
1
2
1
1
1
3
2
4
4
3
4
Montsià
Tarragona
73741
1
2
1
1
1
3
3
3
4
3
4
Themes: (A) Population size; (B) Population growth; (C) Gross National Product; (D) Accommodation coefficient; (E) Impervious surface; (F) Natural protected area; (G) Geomorphologic relevance; (H) Vegetation condition; (I) Landscape transformation; (J) Running water condition; (K) Coastal geomorphology.
Figure 4.2.2 shows the results of the socio-economic and the natural thematic rationalisations. There is a clear relationship between the two: in general, higher values for the socio-economic component are accompanied by lower values for the natural component. This pattern clearly reflects the central role of the metropolitan areas of Barcelona (Barcelonès) and Tarragona (Tarragonès) in the socio-economic development of Catalonia. The least developed areas in socio-economic terms correspond to those with the highest environmental values and are located in the northern (Alt Empordà) and southern (Montsià) ends of the region, where the most important protected natural coastal areas are located (Cap de Creus and the Ebre delta respectively; see Figure 4.2.1).
56
Socio-economic
Natural
Class: 4 3 2 1
Figure 4.2.2. Socio-economic and natural regionalisations of the Catalan coast.
Once these two independent rationalisations were performed, they were combined to define the map of the HEMU. Figure 4.2.3 shows the HEMU obtained by applying a method designed to retain the attribute homogeneity of units after aggregation. By applying a direct averaging of the two dimensions, the numerical values attached to each comarca in Figure 4.2.3 should be obtained. This value, which we will refer to as “total wealth,” is obtained by averaging natural and socio-economic values, and it can be considered an integrated measurement of the two dimensions. However, this method of aggregation can introduce interpretation errors, since zones with very different characteristics can have similar numerical values. Thus, Barcelonès and Alt Empordà have an equal total wealth value which in the first case is due to a high socioeconomic value and in the second is due to a high natural one.
57
2.5
2
2.5
2
2 2.5 1.5 2 2.5
HEMU: A B C D
1.5
2
2.5
Figure 4.2.3. Homogeneous Environmental Management Units of the Catalan coast. Numbers indicate total socio-economic and natural total richness by unit.
To prevent this, we used an integrative model in which the natural component was combined with the socio-economic component, but in which they were inverse scaled (i.e. an original value of four is substituted by a value of one) and averaged. The resulting values were obtained from the algebraic mean of both the regionalisation of the dimensions and re-aggregating them to their class type (i.e. values ranging from 2.000 to 2.999 indicate class 2). Reclassified values were assigned to a non-ordinal nominal four-class scheme to avoid misinterpretation of results. The final results indicate units (comarcas) with similar socio-economic and natural properties but without showing any priority indication. The four-class comarca map obtained represents a reliable management regionalisation of the Catalan coast, while being a data-based and user-oriented product. Based on the spatial aggregation method developed it was possible to account for the functional homogeneity of the coastal zone. The HEMU classify the comarcas into highly natural areas (A), semi-natural areas (B), semi-urban areas (C), and areas with high socio-economic development (D). Geographically, each of these classes (units) should be managed under a desired “vision” that fulfils the expectations of the population living in the area and obeys the established legal framework. Finally, the need to incorporate a stronger plan for the conservation of natural resources in current and future coastal zone management strategies has been stressed previously by several authors (Sherman and Alexander 1986, Van der Weide 1993, EC 2002, DMAH 2004). A management scenario involving environmental conservation was defined to conserve the natural role of the coast and provide a tool for managers that could contribute to the target set for 2010 by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD 1999). The scenario was defined by applying an arbitrary
58
relative weighting of 80% to the natural dimension values and 20% to the socioeconomic values. Figure 4.2.4 shows the resulting map of HEMU in terms of ordinal values. In this case the map represents conservation priorities for the Catalan coast. The regions are clearly similar to those obtained from the equally weighted averaging map, with the differences between them arising from the existence of priority indications for management purposes. As in previous cases, the maximum value for the criteria selected is four; in this case, the highest environmental values. Management plans for these units should be properly considered.
Class: 1 2 3 4
Figure 4.2.4. Conservation HEMU regionalisation scenario of the Catalan coastal.
4.2.5 Discussion and conclusions The GIS provided an appropriate geospatial structure through which to develop an efficient classification of coastal management units (Shupeng 1988). As suggested by Bartlett (2000), GIS also played a key role in database construction, theme modelling and visualization of results. Although the selected polygon data model does not account for the dimensional problems implicit in the line representation of the coast (Vafeidis et al. 2004), we also found that there is no straight forward system to define an aerial model that efficiently manages the dynamics of the two coastal dimensions studied (Mueller et al. 2002). However, in this study we used the mean-based aggregation model proposed by Gornitz (1990), since it has been demonstrated to be less sensitive to data errors, omissions, and misclassifications. In order to use a method that is general enough to be applicable to most coastal zones, themes describing each component were selected on the basis that they were relevant, georeferenced, and could be either easily measured or obtained from existing official 59
data. Although it might be desirable to integrate data at a larger cartographic scale, positive results were observed in the spatial patterns obtained at the Catalan coast geographic scale. This is clearly the result of the multi-source database appropriate integration at a sub-national cartographic scale (1:25,000 to 1:50,000), as recommended by UNEP (1995) (see Table 4.2.1). The themes are relevant to most developed and developing coastal zones, and only a few were specific to the coast analysed. This approach differs from data-intensive studies requiring a large number of descriptors for each theme that in many cases prevent its practical application (see an example in Cendrero and Fischer 1997). An example of an area-specific variable is the accommodation coefficient (number of hotel beds per inhabitant), which is only relevant to areas in which tourism is an important economic activity. This is clearly the case for the Catalan coast, where tourism accounted for about 10.8% of GNP in 2002 (DCTC 2002). If this analysis were to be performed for a coastal zone with different major economic sectors, the corresponding representative indicator would need to be properly selected to reflect the most important socio-economic component. In this study, two parameters in the natural dimension were calculated for the 200 m wide fringe along the coast using the GIS, instead of using municipalities as spatial units. This was done to accurately reflect coastal environmental resources and not environmental resources in coastal administrative units (municipalities) in a specifically adapted ecosystem approach (Rappaport 1999). This width corresponds to the official conservation easement zone based on the administrative regulations for the Spanish coast (Spanish Coastal Law, BOE 1989) and must therefore be adjusted to the specific regulations of the coast to be analysed. The natural data layers at the level of the municipality were aggregated at a higher administrative level—the comarca—by considering values corresponding to the number of coastal municipalities included in it. Thus, the use of comarcas, made up of municipalities with similar characteristics, leads to a degree of uniformity that is most likely to be due to the common natural and socio-economic environment that is implicit inside the boundaries, reflected in a unification effect within the comarca. This final geographic scale was found to be useful for reducing the high variability found at the level of municipalities, which would have complicated the design of an effective ICZM strategic plan for Catalonia (or probably anywhere else). This scale still retained the major sources of variability along the coast, and since data was up-scaled and no aerial subdivisions were made, it did not show significant MAUP symptoms (Marceau 1999). Likewise, no scale-dependent problems were addressed in the classification process because several themes were compiled from the beginning at the comarca level and not aggregated at a different resolution. Similar results concerning the use of comarcas as aggregation planning units in Spain can be found in Barragán (2004). The integrated description of themes selected for the Catalan coastal zone can be considered representative of developed coastal areas, where high values for the socioeconomic components are frequently accompanied by low values for the natural components (see Figure 4.2.2). This also seems to confirm a global tendency in coastal areas for socio-economic activities to generate significant pressures on coastal systems, leading to an inherent reduction in or degradation of natural resources. A similar pattern was found in comarcas with high values for natural resources (the northern and southernmost comarcas); although these are the least developed in socio-economic terms, they were the greatest contributors to the geographic and biological diversity of the Catalan coast. If a river sub-basin schema existed for this area, the present results could be complemented in the future with similar approaches to those used by Escofet (2002) and Yánez-Arancibia and Day (2004).
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Whenever the natural and socio-economic dimensions have to be integrated in order to characterise the properties of discrete planning units, results can be unclear or susceptible to misinterpretation by managers. This is due to the inverse relationship between the socio-economic and natural values of developed coastal areas mentioned above. Thus, two units with different characteristics (one with high socio-economic and low natural values, and the other with the reverse situation) could give the same overall integrated value if they were directly combined. Although the value obtained in this way could be interpreted as a measure of the total wealth (considering both themes) of the territorial unit, it is clear that the two units could not be managed in the same way. This problem was overcome by reclassifying one the components before adding them together and prevented from the socio-economic data interval ranking problems experienced by McLaughlin et al. (2002). The implicit result of this operation should be equivalent to only considering one of the two components and it can only be used for coasts that display the inverse relationship between socio-economic and natural values mentioned above. The bottom-up approach used here provided a data-driven environmental regionalisation of the coast that could not have been obtained with a pre-determined planning structure (Harff and Davis 1990). Thus, the results obtained are not intended to provide a priori management priorities, but rather to identify classes of truly homogeneous units that managers can use for future planning, policy implementations, and monitoring initiatives. This can be seen clearly in Figure 4.2.3 by comparing the difference in HEMU class (four classes) with the total wealth values obtained (almost constant throughout the entire territory). However, HEMU with the lowest total wealth values (La Selva, Maresme, Baix Penedès and Baix Camp) should be identified as critical hot spots in the ICZM strategic plan. Compared with the rest of the territory, these hot spots do not seem to have a dominant value or resource. As suggested by Burbridge (1997), a special plan would have to be designed to improve their situation and to reach the average value throughout the territory. Following the recommendations of the Sixth Environmental Action Programme of the European Community (EC), the conservation of natural resources has been defined as a central objective of the Catalonia ICZM strategic plan to maintain and/or improve the environmental quality of the system and its associated human societies (DMAH 2004). The specific conservation regionalisation developed here (see Figure 4.2.4) provides a spatial vision based on the natural quality of the coastal zone and at the same time serves to identify priority conservation areas, a process that has been proposed as relevant to coastal management by EC (2002). According to the pattern observed, the areas with the highest environmental values are the northernmost and southernmost comarcas, and consequently, under the present management scenario, those are the areas with the lowest priority. For the comarcas with the lowest natural values, two different management options could be selected: defining immediate actions for the improvement of environmental values (condition) or abandoning them and converting them into sacrificed areas in terms of natural wealth. The final choice will depend on the level of transformation shown by these areas, as well as local institutional capacity. In any case, to build a management-oriented scenario, the selection of weights for the socio-economic and natural components should be based on real policy objectives as part of a more systemic view (Van der Weide 1993). Thus, this study only represents a proposal for managers to consider in relation to such issues. Although based on the comarca administrative units, the regionalisation of the Catalonia coastal zone based on HEMU performed here does not correspond to any other existing comarca-based regionalisation of the area. Most existing regionalisations are based on a single theme (typology) and consequently fail to capture the integrated structure and functioning of the coastal system. As an example, the Catalan coastal 61
tourism regionalisation (DCTC 2002) is based on the major economic driving force for the coastal zone, i.e. the tourist industry. In spite of the relative weight of this factor in the socio-economic structure, using it as the only regionalisation parameter for the territory fails to reflect the actual socio-economic and natural variability and complexity of the coastal zone. This generates five regions (Figure 4.2.5) that, despite being currently managed and exploited as homogeneous units, are composed of comarcas with dissimilar socio-economic and natural values (Figures 4.2.2 and 4.2.3). The method proposed here to define a multidimensional HEMU-based regionalisation of the coastal zone using GIS overcomes these problems and can be used to define a more integrated management plan. However, the present proposal represents the result of a data-driven analysis and the process should be complemented by a more social vision that considers the goals and interests of managers, stakeholders and end users.
Figure 4.2.5. Touristic regionalisation of the Catalan coast (DCTC 2002).
In summary, the regionalisation process performed here for the Catalan coastal zone generated four different classes of HEMU, for which socio-economic and natural characteristics were combined in a GIS to give an overall integrated value. The GIS proved to be an efficient tool for data management, analysis and visualization in the overall process of defining coastal management units. This HEMU-based regionalisation of the territory is a way to rationalize the definition of the Catalan ICZM strategic plan. This geospatial approach could also be adapted and applied to other coastal regions. Finally, the relevance of the process will ultimately depend on specific management goals and objectives, and must be considered in the context of the need for a multi-component spatial vision of the coastal system. The proposed HEMU regionalisation, based on the comarca as the administrative/management unit, is expected to be an important tool for the future implementation of the recent ICZM strategic plan for Catalonia.
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4.3 Non-market valuation of the ecosystem services of the Catalan coast 4.3.1 Introduction to the value transfer approach Coastal ecosystem services are becoming more scarce. On the supply side, ecosystems are experiencing serious degradation to their capacity of providing services. Similarly, the demand for ecosystem services is increasing rapidly as populations and standards of living increase (UNEP 2006). Ecosystem Services Value (ESV) is the process of assessing the contribution of ecosystem services to meeting a particular goal. Traditionally, this goal is efficient allocation, but other goals are possible, e.g. assessment of the sustainability of the scale or magnitude of human activities, and fare distribution of resources and property rights (Daly 1992). ESV provides a tool that enhances the ability of decision-makers to evaluate to evaluate trade-offs between alternative ecosystem management regimes to meet a set of goals (Costanza and Folke 1997). In this study a value transfer assessment is used to generate baseline estimates of ESV in the Catalan coast. The transfer method constitutes the application of values and other data from the original study site (empirically obtained) to the present policy site (Loomis 1992, Desvouges et al. 1998). Following Desvouges et al. (1998) the term value transfer is used instead of benefit transfer, since transfer method is not restricted to economic benefits, but can also be extended to include the analysis of potential economic costs, as well as value functions themselves. Therefore, value transfer involves the adaptation of existing valuation information or data to new policy contexts. Due to the increasing sophistication and number of empirical economic valuation studies in the scientific literature, value transfer has become a useful method to assess ESV when primary data collection is not feasible due to budget and time constraints (Kreuter et al. 2001, Moran 1999). Therefore the value transfer method is highly relevant for managers and policy makers since it can be used to estimate the monetary values of the ecosystem services related to human well-being. This method has been used extensible to inform management decisions by public agencies (Downing and Ozuna 1996, Eade and Moran 1996, Kirchoff et al. 1997), and thus provides a credible basis for policy decisions involving sites other than the study site for which the values were originally estimated. This is particularly relevant when resources are negligible (zero value) because they have simply been ignored in the existing markets. The key underlying assumption of international value transfer methods is that the economic value of ecosystem goods or services at the study site can be inferred with sufficient accuracy from the analysis of existing valuation studies at other sites (Ready and Navrud 2006). Despite the known limitations such as the context sensitivity of value estimates (biophysical and socio-economic), accuracy improves clearly when the extent and detail of information increases (Troy and Wilson 2006, Wilson and Hoehn 2006). One of the biggest constrains arise when values are transferred among different reality sites. Therefore, the more one is able to find more accurate data with the target site the better the estimates will be. Spash and Vatn (2006) refer to value transfer as within the context of information transfer in the natural and social sciences. This raises the question as to how value transfer can establish valid results within the unobservable nature of most ecosystem services values. Thereafter, the discussion on validity of values highlights the role of a wide range of biophysical and socio-economic variables in analyzing ESV. In all valuation applications the defensibility of the amounts will be the final test. At the end, 63
the quality of primary studies determines the quality and applicability of the value transfer study. In practice highly similar scenarios (sites) are uncommon in real world and thus transfer exercises may lead to different results (Barton 2002). Commonly different aspects of transfer validity seem to have little attention, although specific conditions of similarity can be compiled from the literature. Spash and Vatn (2006) found that low errors are expected when the following match at the two sites: • • • • • •
The environmental service quantity, quality and their change, population, their characteristics and their use of services, market characteristics, institutional settings, time between primary value estimation and transfer, and geographical location.
However, these constitute desirable characteristics for value transfer data and it will be highly difficult to meet all of them in coastal valuation studies, as this one, due to the lack of adequate data and data gaps in ecosystem services valuated (although for the U.S.A. see a discussion on this issue in Pendleton et al. 2007). There are two main approaches to value transfer: unit and function transfers. Under unit transfer there are three basic avenues. Point estimates define a unit value of benefit, such as an average consumer surplus per ecotourism tour. Hedonic pricing, travel cost and contingent valuations can all provide willingness-to-pay amounts. Finally, the transfer of values can also occur via officially sanctioned numbers, and maybe this is the most common unit value over time (i.e. discounting rates) (Spash and Vatn 2006). Function transfer aims to explain economic benefits (mainly willingness-topay) in terms of a set of explanatory variables. Meta-analysis can be used to combine functions from several studies and assumes that there is an underlying meta-function linking the valued service. Functions should be statistically tested and adapted to the policy site. Therefore, function transfers depend on reliable data availability. Traditionally much of the attention has being paid on the economic theory behind value transfer, and much less to the inherently spatial nature of ESV (Troy and Wilson, 2006). Therefore, at present the number of publications using a spatial value transfer methodology is very limited. As an example, Kreuter et al. (2001) found that there was a 65 % decrease in rangeland and 29 % increase in urbanize land between 1976 and 1991 with a resulting 4 % decline of annual ecosystem services value in Bexar County, Texas, U.S.A. Economist realize the importance of considering the spatial and ecological context of sites in conducting value transfer, however classifications of ecosystems and landscapes need to be developed for this specific purpose (Bateman et al. 2002). The challenge is therefore to effectively link economic valuation and ecosystem functioning using meaningful typologies. Transferred ESV estimates of a given ecosystem from prior studies have been object of several critics. Some of the relevant ones are, first, every ecosystem is unique, and per-hectares values derived from elsewhere in the world may not be relevant to the ecosystems being studied. Second, the flow value depends on the size of the ecosystem; however in most cases, as the size decreases, per hectare value would be expected to increase and vice versa due to resource scarcity. Thus, the marginal cost per hectare is generally expected to increase as the quantity supplied decreases, and a single average value is not the same thing as a range of marginal values. Third, there is no practical way to obtain all of the data one would need to address these problems, and therefore there is no way of knowing the “real” value of e.g. beach ESV. Hence no 64
way of knowing whether the estimated value is accurate or not and, if not, whether it is higher or lower than estimated. In technical terms, there are far too few data points to construct a realistic demand curve or estimate a demand function to value non-market ecosystem services at present. Finally, estimates ESV in a large geographic area is questionable in terms of the standard definition of exchange value because one cannot conceive of a transaction in which ecosystems would be bought and sold. This emphasizes the point that the value estimates for large areas (as opposed to the per hectare value) are comparable to national accounts aggregates and not exchange values (Howarth and Farber 2002). These aggregates (i.e. GDP and income) routinely impute values to public goods for which no conceivable market transaction is possible and it is just these kinds of aggregates that the value of ecosystem services of large geographic areas is comparable to. Although the above objections to value transfer analysis have been responded in detail by other authors (e.g. Costanza et al. 1989, Howarth and Farber 2002), those relevant to the Catalan coast valuation will be addressed here. While every ecosystem is unique, ecosystems of a given type also by definition have many things in common. The use of average monetary values in ecosystem valuation is only justified in a macroeconomic context (i.e. developing economic statistics such as GDP). Proposed estimate of the total flow value of the Catalan coast’s ecosystem services is a valid and useful (also imperfect, as well as economic aggregates) basis for assessing and comparing these services with conventional marketed economic goods and services. Studies used in the value transfer include a variety of time periods, geographic areas, investigators, and analytic methods, and many of them provide a range of estimated values rather than single point estimates. The present study preserves this variance; no studies were removed from the database because their estimated values were thought to be too high or too low and limited sensitivity analyses were performed (only confirmed outliers were excluded). At the end, the approach is similar to defining a willingness-to-pay price for a piece of land based on the prices for comparable parcels. Where even though the property being sold is unique, realtors and lenders feel justified in following this procedure, even to the extent of publicizing a single asking price rather than a price range. The objection of an even imaginary exchange transaction was made in response to the study by Costanza et al. (1997) of the value of all of the world’s ecosystem services. However, it is possible to consider of an exchange transaction in which all or a large portion of a certain land cover was sold for development, so that the basic technical requirement that economic value reflect exchange value could in principle be satisfied. But even this is not necessary if one recognizes the different purpose of valuation at this scale, a purpose more analogous to national accounting than to estimating exchange values (Howarth and Farber 2002). Finally, to treat the economic value of ecosystem services as zero can be referred as the business as usual alternative (although no really an alternative). Commonly this approach has lead to much more error than value transfer itself. Although there are conceptual and empirical problems inherent in producing an estimate of ecosystem services value, the analysis was essential to (1) identify an ecosystem services’ value provided by coastal ecosystems, (2) estimate the flow value of the coastal zone as a whole and of its administrative units, (3) develop a framework for further analysis, and (4) identify areas that need additional research. Thereafter, the objective of this study is to present a comprehensive unit value transfer assessment of the non-market economic benefits provided by the Catalan coast natural environment. The goal of present valuation constitutes to use the best available conceptual frameworks, data sources, and analytical techniques to generate value estimates that can be use to allocate scarce ecosystem services among competing coastal uses such 65
as development and nature conservation. By estimating the economic value of ecosystem services not traded in the marketplace, social costs or benefits that otherwise would remain hidden or unappreciated are revealed, so that when tradeoffs between alternative land uses in Catalonia are evaluated, information is available to help decision-makers avoid systematic biases and inefficiencies. 4.3.2 Applied methodology The methodological approach in this study follows that proposed by Troy and Wilson (2006) for estimating and mapping the ESV. The approach is based on a unit value transfer methodology and its implementation consists of six core steps, being: (1) definition of ecosystem services to be valuated, (2) spatial designation of the study extent, (3) establishment of a land cover typology whose classes predict significant differences in the value and flow of the ecosystem services identified, (4) meta-analysis of peer-reviewed valuation literature to link available cover types, (5) mapping land cover and associated ecosystem services value, and (6) calculation of total ESV flow and breakdown by cover class. Additionally, summaries by comarcas were performed, which constitute relevant management geographies in the assessment of ESV in the Catalan coast. Before proceeding to a more detailed description of the methodological steps referred before a couple of points need to be made. First, the term land cover incorporates aspects of both, land cover types and uses, since the typology used primarily refers to cover rather than use and terrestrial rather than aquatic/marine. Second, for comparability purposes with most similar works this section of the study limits its discussion to the calculation of ecosystem services monetary value flow in 2004 U.S. dollars per hectare and year. Economic data in the study has been standardized to represent total present values and not discounted. This allows the results to be incorporated into scenarios that may weight the future costs and benefits differently over the time (Heal 2004). However, ecosystem services stocks may also be calculated by estimating the Net Present Value (NPV) of the future flow of services. Identification of ecosystem services to be valuated This first step consists on the definition of the ecosystem services whose value will be assessed. The identification of the ecosystem services to be evaluated is part of the study design stage. The outcome of this process depends of the goal and objectives of the assessment and data availability in the peer-reviewed literature (thus, in close relationship to step 4). Ecosystem services typologies respond to a functional hierarchy, i.e. 1. regulating services – 1.1 gas & climate, 1.2 disturbance, 1.3 biological, 1.4 water, 1.5 soil, 1.6 waste, and 1.7 nutrient (following the schema proposed in Farber et al. 2006 and see Table 3.5.1 in Chapter 3). Study area definition The study area definition is an essential step since even small boundaries adjustments can have large impacts on ESV estimates (i.e. highly valued coastal wetlands). While the goal may correspond to an administrative unit or political boundaries, those may not match to relevant biophysical areas. This is normally the case of the coastal zone environmental assessment and valuation, due to poor global definition of coastal and marine waters and coastal influence of land in the ocean and vice versa. Therefore, this definition process will have significant impact on the final results of the estimation
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of the ESV of the coastal zone. For the purpose of this study the ESV will be estimated for the operational definition of the Catalan coast that was defined in Chapter 2. Land cover typology definition The development of a land cover typology for ESV assessment start with the identification of existing layers, as land use cover, land cover (i.e. natural communities), and habitat mapping. This step also depends on available cartography and GIS layers of the study area, since in most cases it would be unviable to develop its own land cover layer at regional or large geographic scale. Therefore a challenge for this study was to link the ecosystem services of interest to the available land use GIS layer. In this study a vector layer model was used due to the precision needed to estimate the ESV in the Catalan narrow coastal zone. In synthesis, the land cover layer will be used to estimate the flow value per type hectare. Here, the spatial aggregation was conducted at the habitat level increasing the possibility to visualize the exact location of ecologically important elements with in the coastal features. Literature search and analysis In this step peer-reviewed empirical studies, preferably from similar biophysical and socio-economic contexts, are analyzed in order to extract ESV data associated with each land cover class it is included in the assessment (Ready and Navrud 2006). The information should be assessed based on ecosystem services type, land cover type, valuation method (see Table 4.1.1 for a list of most appropriated method of valuation by ecosystem service), year of the study, geographic location and per hectare value estimates, among other study-specific relevant attributes. If no applicable studies are available, additional non peer-reviewed and meta-analysis should be located and its data summarized. Ideally, if no available or appropriate data exists, new empirical studies need to be commissioned. By increasing the number of publications used in a value transfer analysis several good conditions arise: value data gaps are filled for some ecosystem services, complementing data for an ecosystem service increases the range of estimates that allows the analysis to determine if any given estimates appears unreasonable. Commonly, steps 1, 3 and 4 are determined in an iterative way because the selection of specific ecosystem services to study will impact the availability of valuation studies, and therefore value data, that will necessary impact the development of the land cover typology. There are three general categories of valuation studies that can be used in ecosystem services value transfer assessments: (1) peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, proceedings and technical reports that use conventional economic valuation techniques (this are the more desirable sources of data), (2) non peer-reviewed publications which could include master and doctoral thesis, technical reports and proceedings, as well as public raw data, and (3) secondary data sources from metaanalysis of peer-reviewed and non peer-reviewed studies that use conventional or nonconventional economic valuation methods. The development of online databases has provided a new tool for value transfer studies (see McComb et al. 2006 for a complete discussion on online databases). Over the past decade, different databases have made available data contained in thousands of primary environmental valuation studies conducted since 1980s (i.e. Environmental Valuation Reference InventoryTM by Environment Canada). These databases integrate tools to perform the literature research and some of have paid special attention on the development of benefit transfer applications.
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Mapping land cover and value Maps needed in value transfer analysis are commonly developed in a GIS environment using available data. This step follows the recommendations from Bateman et al. (2002) on the application of GIS to environmental economics. Most common geoprocessing techniques involved are data layer overlay, merging (combining or union), clipping (sub-setting) and dissolving (spatial or tabular aggregation). These methods will vary from every project. Other characteristics of data layers need to be evaluated at by project basis in order to determine its quality, such as minimum mapping unit, source and final cartographic scales, year of creation, spatial accuracy and data model. Ideally, a good compromise between data quantity, extent and quality should exist in the value transfer database developed. Although from a technical perspective this type of database shouldn’t constitute a highly complex system, it should certainly comprise an accurate spatial and attributed accounting system, due to its valuation nature where every hectare will represent monetary estimates. Calculation of total ESV In this step spatial explicit ESV are calculated by ecosystem service and land cover type. The total flow value for a given cover unit is calculated by adding the individual ecosystem service value associated to the land cover and multiplying by the units’ area. In this process the total flow values is calculated by ecosystem service and flow maps can be derived. Equation below illustrates how V(ESi) (flow value expressed in currency amount per year units) can be obtained in the GIS environment:
n
V ( ESi ) = ∑ A( LUi )·V ( ESki ) k =1
where A(LUi) = area of land cover type (i), and V(ESki) = annual value per unit area of ecosystem service type (k) (expressed in currency amount per area unit and per year) generated by each land cover type (i) (Troy and Wilson 2006). Summary of ESV by relevant management units If relevant to the study, land cover types and total flow value can be spatially summarized by any user defined management or political aggregation units (i.e. comarcas). Due to the characteristic of ESV to be mapped at their original minimum mapping unit (i.e. precise vector or grid cell position and boundary), hierarchical aggregations can be performed to summarize data at other spatial scales. The relevance of such results may depend on the original minimum mapping unit. The aggregation or disaggregation of data will allow us to visualize the pattern and distribution of ecologically important landscape features (Eade and Moran 1996, Bateman et al. 1999). However, spatial aggregated measures of geographic data tend to hide patterns of heterogeneity (see a discussion on the modifiable aerial unit problem and the ecological fallacy in Section 4.2 in this Chapter) (Openshaw 1984, Fotheringham et al. 2000). Analogously, aggregated measures of non-market values, while useful, can also obscure the heterogeneous nature of the underlying ecosystem services provisioning processes.
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4.3.3 Results and discussion The results of this study will be presented in two sections. First, results related to steps one to six on the value transfer analysis of the Catalan coastal zone; and second, those related to comarcas, thus the Homogeneous Environmental Management Units developed in Section 4.2 in this Chapter. ESV and flow of the Catalan coast The Catalan coast natural environment is composed of a diverse mixture of forests, grasslands, wetlands, rivers, beaches and seagrass beds that provide many different valuable goods and services to human beings. Although there are several proposal of ecosystem services typologies (i.e. Costanza et al. 1997, de Groot et al. 2002, Farber et al. 2006) this study followed the typology developed by Costanza et al. (1997) for standardization and comparability purposes (since publication of the study several valuations follow this classification and/or have adapted to their needs). Therefore, the study used a set of 14 non-consumptive services provided by natural and semi-natural coastal ecosystems: (1) atmospheric gas and climate regulation, (2) disturbance regulation, (3) freshwater regulation, (4) freshwater supply, (5) erosion control, (6) soil formation, (7) nutrient regulation/cycling, (8) waste treatment, (9) pollination, (10) biological control, (11) habitat/refugium, (12) genetic resources, (13) aesthetic and recreation, and (14) cultural and spiritual. A detailed description of each ecosystem service can be consulted in Annex III. The Catalan coast has been previously described in Chapter 2 in terms of its socioeconomic, natural and political characteristics. The operational coastal zone definition defined there constitutes the study area of this value transfer analysis. It comprises a 22.8 % of the total terrestrial surface in Catalonia and 21.5 % of its continental shelf. The study area comprises a total of 922,892 ha, where 731,408 ha correspond to the terrestrial domain and 191,484 ha to the marine domain. The Catalan coast land cover typology was developed for the purpose of calculating the ESV and flow provided by the defined ecosystem services. This typology is a variant of the Catalonia habitats (DMAH 2006c), the Catalan Sea bathymetry (DARP 2000) and the seagrass beds GIS layers (DARP 2002). The habitats spatial layer has been compiled in with data from ortophotos at 1:25,000 scale from 1998 and 2003 at a final cartographic scale of 1: 50,000. It included more than 600 natural, semi-natural and artificial habitat types for the entire Catalonia Autonomous Community, which was based on the CORINE Biotopes Manual of the European Union. The bathymetry layer was used to develop a ≤ 50 m depth strip of the continental shelf and the seagrass bed layer to map the seagrass communities within that strip (mainly composed of Posidonia oceanica meadows). Land cover typologies were divided into two major domains for synthetically (environmental accounting) and management purposes. The coastal and marine domain includes the true marine continental shelf and seagrass beds, and the oceanic influenced beaches, dunes and saltwater wetlands, which constitutes a 22.2 % of the area valuated. The terrestrial domain constitutes a 77.8 % and includes the vegetated communities, freshwater flows and bodies, and the more artificial and urban related land covers. The aggregated classification fulfilled the coastal zone definition and the ecosystem services of interest in this study. Table 4.3.1 shows the developed typology with 15 classes, which condenses a unique number of four classes of the coastal-marine domain and seven classes of the 69
terrestrial domain that were valued. Although the classes of urban, barren, burned forest and mining grounds were included in the table below for area-accounting purposes, they where not valuated since either it is not expected to provide services or its value has not been found in the reviewed literature.
Table 4.3.1. Catalan coast land cover typology and surface. Domain
Land cover
Coastal-marine
Shelf (≤ 50 m) Seagrass bed Beach or dune Saltwater wetland Total
191,484 8,568 4,098 2,494 206,644
Terrestrial
Temperate forest Grassland Cropland Freshwater wetland Open freshwater Riparian buffer Urban greenspace Urban * Barren Burned forest Mining ground Total
350,472 37,010 246,416 73 5,611 2,558 1,848 71,589 3,781 2,778 2,681 724,816
Total
Area (ha)
931,460
Note: * Urban land cover includes urban areas and other impervious zones.
The total surface of the land covers included differs from the general area of the study area. The difference corresponds to the addition of the seagrass beds area (8,568 ha). Since the seagrass ecological community provides additional ecosystem services to those accounted for in coastal shelf here, i.e. waste processing, storm protection and erosion control (see Gacia and Duarte 2001, Moberg and Ronnback 2003, UNEP 2006), its area was added to the total number of hectares included in the valuation, as shown in Table 4.3.1. Figure 4.3.1 shows the individual area contribution of land covers in the study area. The largest land covers in the Catalan coast are temperate forests, continental shelf (≤ 50 m depth), agricultural land, urban land, barren land, burned forest and mining grounds, and grasslands. A common characteristic among these five land covers is medium to high human influence and resource use that are subject to. Although subject to a lower human influence and are represented in less amount, the rest of the land covers account for high ecological value (i.e. beaches, dunes, wetlands, running water and bodies, and seagrasses).
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Urban/barren/burned/minin g 8.7% Urban greenspace 0.2% Riparian buffer 0.3% Shelf (≤ 50 m) 20.6%
Open freshwater 0.6% Freshwater wetland 0.0%
Beach or dune 0.4% Seagrass bed 0.9%
Cropland 26.5%
Saltwater Wetland 0.3%
Grassland 4.0%
Temperate forest 37.6%
Figure 4.3.1. Area distribution by land cover type of the Catalan coast.
Most categories in the typology represent aggregations of habitats. Annex IV presents a complete description of land covers and sub-categories. As an example, “beach or dune” category in the new typology includes both the beach and the vegetated coastal dunes categories of the habitat layer (DMAH 2006c). However, some categories were developed using ancillary data sources in combination with the habitat layer, i.e. rivers, lakes and priority wetlands layers were used to develop the freshwater layers of open freshwater, freshwater wetlands and riparian buffers. Figure 4.3.2 shows the land cover map of the Catalan coast.
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Figure 4.3.2. Land cover map of the Catalan coastal zone.
The raw data for the value transfer analysis was obtained from previously conducted contingent valuation-based empirical studies, which measured the economic (monetary) value of ecosystem services. A set of decision rules were developed for selecting empirical studies from the literature that allowed estimating the economic value. Online scientific literature search engines and databases were used to create the Catalan coast value database, such as ISI Web of Science (Thomson 2005b) and the Environmental Valuation Reference InventoryTM (EVRI 2006). Decision rules for selecting economic studies for the Catalan coast: • • • •
Published in peer-reviewed journals or books, or in meta-analysis of other documents (see Table 4.3.2 below). Limited to results that can readily be translated into spatial equivalencies—(i.e. U.S. dollars per hectare). Focused on similar socio-economic and biophysical regions as Catalonia in North America and Europe. Focused primarily on non-consumptive resource use and ecosystem services (i.e. non-market).
According to Brouwer (2000) the quality of the original studies will determine the overall quality of the ESV estimate. Therefore during the literature review two general categories were identified as useful and desirable for the valuation assessment. Table 4.3.2 shows the two types of literature that were used in this analysis, together with its strengths and weakness.
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Table 4.3.2. Value transfer data source typology used. Type I
Type II
Peer-reviewed journal, book chapter
Meta-analysis of peerreviewed and nonpeer-reviewed studies
Uses conventional economic valuation methods
Uses conventional & non-conventional valuation methods
Restricted to conventional, preference-based value
Uses conventional preference-based, non-conventional preference-based & non-preference-based values
Type I studies are peer-reviewed empirical analyses that use conventional environmental economic techniques (i.e. travel cost, hedonic pricing and contingent valuation) to determine individual preferences on environmental services. Type II studies represent secondary, summary studies such as statistical meta-analyses of primary valuation literature that include both conventional environmental economic techniques as well as non-conventional techniques (energy analyses, marginal product estimation) to generate meta-estimates of ESV. Non peer-reviewed analyses or grey literature such as technical reports, doctoral theses and government documents were not included in the creation of the value database, due to time constrains in this study. The ESV results presented below integrate Type I & II literature categories to estimate the ESV associated with the Catalan coastal zone. Specific information on all the studies included in the database appears in Annex V and the value database in Annex VI. Queries of the best available ESV data were performed to the database to generate baseline ecosystem service values estimates for the entire coastal zone. A set of 94 peer-reviewed empirical Type I & II studies was selected, were 188 individual estimates were obtained for 53 pairs of ecosystem service and land cover. The time coverage of literature used ranged from 1971 to 2004, with a median of 1994 and being 1996 the year with most articles. All ESV were standardized to average 2004 U.S. dollar equivalents per hectare and per year to provide a consistent basis for comparison. Value from different dates found in the literature where standardized using annual Consumer Price Index variation for Catalonia (INE 2006b); and when ever needed, the Euro to U.S. dollar were converted using the fix exchange rate ($ 1 = 133.94 Pesetas & 166.38 Pesetas = 1 Euro) set in 1994 by the Bank of Spain (Banco de España 2006). The developed baseline of ecosystem services value and land cover types represented within the study area are presented in Table 4.3.3. Each value presents the standardized average value data for ecosystem services associated with a unique land cover type. Following convention in the literature all results presented represent the statistical mean for each ESV (i.e. Costanza et al. 1997, Eade and Moran 1999, Wilson et al. 2004). Each mean value can be based on one or several estimates, therefore the
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number of estimates used to derive each mean ESV is reported in technical Annex VI. Statistical means do tend to be more sensitive to upper bound and lower bound outliers in the literature than median, although some differences do exist between the mean and median ESV estimates. For example, the statistical mean for beach or dune ESV is approximately $ 104,146 USD/ha·yr, while the statistical median is $ 93,905 USD/ha·yr, a difference of approximately $ 10,241 U.S. dollars per year. Given that this difference represents the largest mean-median gap, the analysis assumes that results would not dramatically change if statistical means were replaced with statistical median. While it may also be tempting to narrow statistical ranges by discarding high and low outliers from the literature, the data used in this section were all directly derived from empirical studies rather than theoretical models and there is no defensible reason for favoring one set of estimates over another. Data trimming therefore was not used. In Table 4.3.3, the summary column at the far right of the table shows a considerable variability in ecosystem service values delivered by different land cover types in the Catalan coastal zone. As expected, each land cover represents a unique mix of services documented in the peer-reviewed literature. On per hectare basis, beaches provide the highest ESV ($ 104,146) by providing disturbance control ($ 67,400) and aesthetic & recreation values ($ 36,687), providing these also the largest individual values in the assessment. Second, it appears that both freshwater wetlands ($ 28,585) and seagrass beds ($ 24,228) contribute significantly to the ESV. On the lower end of the value spectrum, grassland ($ 230) and cropland ($ 2,140) provide the lowest ESV on an annualized basis. This finding is consistent with the focus of the current analysis on non-market values which by definition exclude provisioning services provided by agricultural landscapes (i.e. food and raw materials). Empty spaces in Table represent data gaps in the literature and its implications will be discussed later in this document. The column totals at the bottom of Table 4.3.3 also reveal considerable variability between averages ESV delivered by different ecosystem services. Disturbance regulation constitutes the largest valuable ecosystem service ($ 77,420), followed by aesthetic & recreation services ($ 50,098); while soil formation and genetic resources services account both for the lowest values of the spectrum ($ 20). Most estimates were based on current willingness-to-pay or other stated-preferences approaches, which are limited by human preferences and knowledge base. Improving people’s knowledge base about the contributions of ecosystem services to their welfare would almost certainly increase the values based on willingness-to-pay, as people would realize that ecosystems provided more services than they had previously been aware of.
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Table 4.3.3. Value of ecosystem services per land cover and service. Ecosystem services (2004 USD/ha·yr)
Domain
Coastal & marine
Gas/ Climate regulation
Land Cover
Disturbance regulation
Water regulation
Water supply
Shelf (≤ 50 m)
Erosion control
Soil formation
Nutrient cycling
1,287
Habitat/ refugia
Genetic resources
Aesthetic & recreation
49
Cultural & spiritual
Total per ha ( USD/ha·yr)
86
766
Temperate forest
133
Grassland
7
13,376 403 5
9,037
7,378
Open freshwater Riparian buffer
217 830
497
122
12
109
400
5
37
7
109
32
30
20
30
Cropland 331
3,815
2,071
2,281
20
36,687
59
104,146
64
445
15,147
301
2
3,789
2
230
2,053
37
2,140
279
3,474
1,011
880
4,747
3,385
15
2,199
28,585 1,890
10
5,266
8,359 6,111
Urban/barren/burned/mining Totals
3,210 24,228
67,400
Saltwater wetland
Urban greenspace
Biological control
24,228
Beach or dune
Freshwater wetland
Pollination
1,787
Seagrass bed
Terrestrial
Waste treatment
0 1,302
77,420
7,398
11,263
159
20
26,015
15,664
452
114
Notes: Rows and columns are in USD/ha·yr. Open cells indicate lack of available value data.
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5,110
20
50,098
2,802
197,836
Ecosystem services annual flow value for land cover types in the Catalan coast were determined by multiplying areas of each cover type in hectares, by the estimated annualized ESV in U.S. dollar per hectare for each cover type. ESV presented above in Table 4.3.3 were used to estimate the flow values associated with each ecosystem service. Resulting values were estimated for each land cover type unit (polygon) in the coastal zone using the spatially explicit value transfer described in methods. Total flow ESV estimates for each land cover category were estimated by taking the product of total average per hectare service value and the area of each land cover type in the operational coastal zone definition. These results are summarized below in Table 4.3.4. The data show that substantial economic values are being delivered to Catalan coast citizens every year by functional ecological systems on the landscape. It was estimated that ecosystem services of the Catalan coastal zone (931,460 ha) provides $ 3.2 billion USD per year in natural capital. Opposite with the value transfer data results reported above, it appears that ecosystem services associated with temperate forest are the largest flow value providers on annual basis (41.6 %). Although forest does not account for a large ESV ($ 3,789 compared to $ 104,146 of the shelf), results are influenced by having the largest surface (37.6 %) in the coastal zone area. Shelf (19.2 %), cropland (16.5 %) and beach or dune (13.4 %) follow, respectively, in the provisioning of cumulative economic value on annual basis.
Table 4.3.4. Annual flow of ecosystem services per land used cover.
Domain Coastal-marine
Terrestrial
Total flow (2004 USD/yr)
Land use cover Shelf (≤ 50 m) Seagrass bed Beach or dune Saltwater wetland
%
Total
614,637,663 207,585,504 426,791,880 37,777,608 1,286,792,655
19.2 6.5 13.4 1.2 40.3
Temperate forest Grassland Cropland Freshwater wetland Open freshwater Riparian buffer Urban greenspace Urban/barren/burned/mining Total Total
1,328,021,174 8,502,682 527,307,954 2,086,694 10,606,674 21,383,563 11,292,851 0 1,909,201,592 3,195,994,247
41.6 0.3 16.5 0.1 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.0 59.7 100
A closer look to the results shows that coastal and marine land covers provide 40.3 % of the total flow value, although it only accounts for 22.2 % of the total valuated surface in the study. In the other hand, more than 97 % of the contribution to value by the terrestrial domain is provided by only two, forest and cropland, out of the seven valued land covers. Moreover, if land covers are aggregated into classical environmental categories (see Figure 4.3.3 below), results show that coastal (18.1) classes have the best ESV-area relationship (compared to marine and aquatic = 1.1, terrestrial = 0.8). This implies that, based on present knowledge of ESV, beach, dunes and saltwater
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wetlands provide more value by hectare than any other land cover in the Catalan coastal zone.
80
70
60
T
Total flow
50
40
30 M 20 C 10 A
0 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Area Note: (M)arine = shelf and seagrass; (C)oastal = beach, dunes and saltwater wetland; (T)errestrial = forest, grassland, cropland and urban greenspace; (A)quatic = freshwater wetland, open freshwater and riparian buffer.
Figure 4.3.3. Contribution to flow value by area of major land cover type. Urban, barren, burned and mining land cover types not included in calculations.
This result probably underestimate shifts in the demand curves as the sources of ecosystem services become scarcer. If the Catalan coast’s ecosystem services are scarcer than assumed here, their value has been underestimated in this study. Such reductions in supply appear likely as land conversion and development takes place, i.e. during the period 1987-2000 Catalonia experienced an artificial land increment of 12.8 % compared to the average 30 % in Spain during the same period (OSE 2006); climate change may also adversely affect coastal ecosystems. The precise impacts are harder to predict and thus this complementary analysis wasn’t under the scope of present study. The flow estimates were then mapped by land cover across the Catalan coastal zone. This was done by combining the land cover typology spatial layer (individual habitat polygon constituted minimum mapping unit) and the ESV in per hectare basis in Table 4.3.3. Maps in Figure 4.3.4 show per hectare ESV estimates for all Catalan coast land covers and the annual flow they provide. The spatial representation of ESV (A) shows each land cover per hectare value, while ESV flow (B) represents the economic values are being delivered to Catalan coast citizens every year. Maps were produced in GIS environment at a 1:50,000 cartographic scale, since it was based on the original habitats of Catalonia layer (DARP 2006).
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As the Catalan coast flow ESV map shows, there is considerable heterogeneity in the actual delivery of ESV’s across the coastal zone with particularly notable differences between interior and coastal areas; and North and South, and centre areas. This pattern of spatial heterogeneity suggests that differences are due to underlying landscape patterns on the ground and analogous to the findings above for the coastalmarine domain. For example, same pattern was observed on close examination to beaches, dunes and saltwater wetlands, which although having low surface their contribution to total flow is highly relevant. Similarly, value appears to be concentrated to the extremes of the study area (North and South) due to their large less influenced natural and semi-natural areas (see chapter 2 and Section 4.2 of this Chapter for an explanation of natural areas along the Catalan coast).
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Figure 4.3.4. Ecosystem services value (A) and flow (B) maps of the Catalan coastal zone. A in 2004 USD/ha·yr and B in 2004 millions of USD/yr.
79
The contribution by ecosystem service to total flow ESV was also analyzed. Figure 4.3.5 shows the considerable variability that resulted between different ecosystem services. Habitat (40.9 %) is the largest value provider to the total flow of ESV. It is followed by nutrient cycling (17.2 %), water supply (12.7 %), aesthetics and recreation (9.0 %), disturbance regulation (8.7 %) and pollination (4.6 %). The addition of the area dimension to the analysis allows land covers with large areas to have a bigger contribution in value (i.e. forest and cropland). However, this is not necessary true for all ecosystem services, since most of the contribution of disturbance regulation and aesthetics and recreational services are provided by beaches, dunes and seagrasses which are not very abundant compared to the other terrestrial land covers. There were several ecosystem services which seemed obviously undervalued due to the available literature. Although this issue will be discussed later in this chapter in terms of available data, a number of ESV does not reflect the more classical functional view of the nature of the coastal zone, i.e. waste treatment by wetlands, water regulation by river deltas, gas and climate regulation by the shelf, and the cultural and spiritual classical function of the coats.
Cult ural & spiritual 0.6%
Gas/climat e reg. 1.5%
Aesthet ic & recreat ion 9.0%
Disturbance reg. 8.7% Wat er reg. 0.0%
Genet ic res. 0.2%
Water supp. 12.7% Erosion cont. 1.4% Soil f orm. 0.1%
Habit at 40.9%
Nutrient cycl. 17.2% Waste t rea. 2.4% Biological cont . 0.6%
Pollinat ion 4.6%
Figure 4.3.5. Contribution to flow value by ecosystem services’ type.
Literature on the value transfer approach reveals different conclusions as to the effect of including socio-economic variables suggested by Spash and Vatn (2006). Most studies that are based on function transfer include variables that cover income, gender, age, and education. However, some studies conclude that standard variables used are often insignificant or capture only a small part of the total value variation and do not improve results compared to unit transfer analysis (Brouwer 2000, Barton 2002, Shrestha and Loomis 2003, Jiang et al. 2005). The analysis performed here constitutes a unit transfer approach, which it is based on the review of literature to obtain value estimates that are relevant to the Catalan coast. However, estimates were compared to actual market economic indicators. Table 4.3.5 show the contribution of land cover’s flow ESV, to the GDP and income of the Catalan coastal zone (based on the 12 comarcas of the coastal zone, see Annex IX). Results show that total flow ESV constitutes 2.8 % of the annual GDP ($ 114,805,986,219 in 2004; Caixa Catalunya 2005) and 4.3 % annual available family income ($ 74,375,954,818 in 2004; IDESCAT 2006) in the coastal zone. Income was found to be
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more significant since it is this economic measurement which can be compared to natural wealth provided by ecosystem services. While most contribution to GDP and income is provided terrestrial land covers, especially forest, coastal and marine covers account for relevant contributions (i.e. shelf, beaches and dunes). The USD/GDP column indicates the contribution of flow ESV available by each 1000 units of GDP. For example, temperate forest services provided an equivalent natural capital of $ 11.57 per 1000 dollars of GDP in 2004, while freshwater wetlands provided only $ 0.02 for the same period.
Table 4.3.5. Comparison of total flow of ecosystem services value with GDP and income by land used type in 2004 (USD/GDP = flow per 1000 GDP units). Domain
Land use cover
Coastal-marine Shelf (≤ 50 m) Seagrass bed Beach or dune Saltwater wetland Total Terrestrial
Temperate forest Grassland Cropland Freshwater wetland Open freshwater Riparian buffer Urban greenspace Total Total
Flow %
GDP %
Income % USD/GDP
19.23 6.50 13.35 1.18 40.26
0.54 0.18 0.37 0.03 1.12
0.83 0.28 0.57 0.05 1.73
5.35 1.81 3.72 0.33
41.55 0.27 16.50 0.07 0.33 0.67 0.35 59.74 100
1.16 0.01 0.46 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.01 1.66 2.78
1.79 0.01 0.71 0.00 0.01 0.03 0.02 2.57 4.30
11.57 0.07 4.59 0.02 0.09 0.19 0.10
In 1997, Costanza et al. estimated the ESV and flow of the global natural capital in an average 33 trillion U.S. dollars per year. Since then many studies have developed ecosystem services valuations (Heal et al. 2005; McComb et al. 2006, Wilson and Hoehn 2006). Table 4.3.6 below shows a comparison of major ecosystem services value at different geographical scales, including Costanza et al. (1997) global estimations. A direct comparison among most of the categories provided is not possible due to differences in goods and services (i.e. market versus non-market), land cover typologies and resolutions used (including spatial and temporal). Although results show the above mentioned differences among studies, i.e. several orders of magnitude in surface, population and GDP; it was evident that the Catalan coast achieves the largest value per hectare ($ 3,463). Differences in coastal zone definition are also relevant when comparing. Although the marine evaluated surface here represents only 20.1 %, it represents more than half the total valuated surface in Scotland (Williams et al. 2003). Thereafter, it was more evident that a significant amount of estimated ESV flow in Scotland has been achieved due to the larger marine area included. Furthermore, differences are probably enhanced due to the larger cartographic scale of source data (land cover spatial layer) on what this study relied on. Thereafter, several highly valued land covers were able to be included (i.e. saltwater wetlands, seagrass beds, freshwater rivers, bodies and wetlands) and attached to a value in the analysis, which therefore improved the total ESV of the coastal zone.
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Table 4.3.6. Comparison of different ecosystem services valuation studies. Data standardized for 2004.
World Catalan coast Scotland
Area 6 (ha x 10 )
GDP 6 (USD x 10 )
Pop 6 (pop x 10 )
ES flow 6 (USD x 10 )
51,625.0
44,384,871
6,464.0
42,410,000
95.6
822
6,560
0.9
114,805
4.3
3,195
2.8
3,463
730
16.0
141,888
5.0
32,622
23.0
1,936
6,424
GDP %
USD/ha·yr
Flow per capita
Notes: Flow value in USD/yr. Each study included its own definition of marine extent. World data from Costanza et al. 1997 and other sources. Scotland data from Williams et al. 2003 and other sources.
It is also interpreted from results that comparisons are only possible among equivalent land covers, where coastal zones include the same ecosystems and the only dependent variable in the analysis is the services’ value (normally stated by human preferences). Hence, a common and objective definition of the coastal zone’s land covers need to be implemented in the future, if comparisons among sites are relevant. Moreover, this study proposes the use of HEMU in the analysis of flow ESV of the coastal zone, since this approach allows integrating territorial specific characteristics in its management as described in Section 4.2. ESV and flow of the management units of the Catalan coast In this sub-section, results of the spatial summaries at the comarca administrative level are presented. Previously in this study, comarcas were chosen to represent the terrestrial definition of the coastal zone in this study (a larger discussion on the relevance of this administrative unit to the Catalan coast management can be found in Section 4.2 in this Chapter). The summary of ESV by relevant management units has been reported previously as useful in the understanding of the heterogeneous nature of the underlying ecosystem services provisioning processes (Bateman et al. 1999, Troy and Wilson 2006). Thereafter, the objective of this analysis was to identify the relationship between ESV and some relevant characteristics of the coastal zone for its management. Detailed area and value transfer results by land cover and comarca are presented in Annexes VII and VIII, respectively. Results in Figure 4.3.6 show the relationship between the area and flow ESV by comarca. Both were found consistent with distribution found in the HEMU analysis, since larger natural values are found in larger comarcas and to the North and South extremes of the study area. In the middle, Garraf also follows the patterns and accounts for a considerable ESV. Results show that Montsià (16.5 %) has the larger absolute flow ESV followed by Alt Empordà and Baix Ebre. Barcelonès having (1.2 %) the lowest contribution to the flow ESV, among comarcas. From these results and as expected, it can be determined that area has a large effect in the flow ESV estimates. However, this is not only true from the flow calculations (ESV is multiplied by the area to obtain the flow, thus larger areas will provide larger values), but since large comarcas also account for a less populated and more natural environment (see Figure 4.2.2). Consequently, Baix Empordà, Garaf, Baix Camp, Baix Ebre and Montsià were
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found to have flow-area ratios greater than one, and thus represent the larger relative contributions to total flow in the Catalan coast.
14.9 16.5 14.0
Flow Area
10.6 9.3
10.1 6.7 4.4
16.2
5.3 3.3
11.1 8.4
6.8
1.2
6.0
4.6
2.2 Alt
Baix
Empordà
Empordà
Selva
Mar esme
Barcelonès
Baix
Gar raf
Llobregat
3.8 Baix
3.7
13.5
13.8
Baix Ebre
Mont sià
9.0 4.6
Tar ragonès Baix Camp
Penedès
Figure 4.3.6. Contribution of flow value and area by comarca. Numbers indicate percentages.
Another relevant characteristic of present ESV estimates is that they also integrate a marine area and its corresponding ecosystem services. This constitutes a major difference between this results and the previous HEMU analysis. Although it has been reported that the coastal-marine ecosystem services contribute to 40.3 % of the total ESV, only the Montsià and Baix Ebre area together account for 17 % of the total ESV in the coastal zone. Therefore it is relevant to understand the “mariness” of comarcas in order to determine the nature of its ESV (see Figure 4.3.7). An example of this issue is represented by Maresme, which constitutes an economic dominated HEMU, but has a considerable larger marine portion that certainly provides more ESV that what was expected from its natural resources and HEMU class (see Figures 4.2.2 and 4.2.3).
Alt Empordà Baix Empordà Selva M aresme Barcelonès Baix Llobregat
Coastal-marine
Garraf
Terrestrial
Baix Penedès Tarragonès Baix Camp Baix Ebre M ont sià 0.E+00
2.E+04
4.E+04
6.E+04
8.E+04
1.E+05
1.E+05
1.E+05
Area (ha)
Figure 4.3.7. Coastal-marine and terrestrial area by comarca.
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2.E+05
When compared ESV flow with demographic and economic variables a general inverse pattern was found (see complete results in Annex IX). As expected, Figure 4.3.8 shows that there is an inverse relationship between flow ESV and other market economic indicators, such as GDP and income. This pattern is also coherent with results found at HEMU level, since less populated and more natural comarcas account for the higher ESV and the lowest economic development. The Baix Penedès case is also singular, since as reported before it accounts for the lowest natural value (see Table 4.2.2), and together with Barcelonès the lowest ESV flow (see Figure 4.3.6). Baix Penedès has developed in the last decade large touristic areas, e.g. Vendrell and Comarruga which constitute more affordable second residency and recreational area for people from Barcelona than Garraf (Pers. Com. with Alvar Garola). Garraf and Maresme also show a pressure-export effect of Barcelona Metropolitan area. This is captured in the Maresme Strategic Development Plan, which reports that a desirable natural land use model has been losing territory against the developed dormitory cities along its coast (Maresme2015 2007). Similarly, results on contributions of comarca’s ESV flow to each of its economic variables shows Montsià (52.3 % of its income) having the larger contribution to its economic wealth, with more than double that all other comarcas, but Baix Ebre (36.9 % of its income). While Tarragonès and Barcelonès have the smaller contributions (Annex X shows the contribution of ESV flow by comarca to its GDP and income).
100 Flow % Population % Income % GDP %
10
1
Alt Empordà
Baix Empordà
Selva
Maresme
Barcelonès
Baix Llobregat
Garraf
Baix Penedès
Tarragonès
Baix Camp
Baix Ebre
Montsià
Figure 4.3.8. Comparison of total flow of ecosystem services to population, GDP and income by comarca. Y-axis in logarithmic scale. For clarity purposes discrete spatial units have been represented as linear plots.
The map in Figure 4.3.9 shows the average annual ESV per hectare by HEMU. Since these estimates also integrate the marine ESV, the specific pattern differs from those of the HEMU. However, the general distribution of the ESV remains along the coastal zone. Major differences are found in Garraf which has the greater per hectare value ($ 4,123); and Alt Empordà having a considerable lower value ($ 3,166), considering that it accounts for the second largest ESV (14.9 %), among the comarcas. For consistency
84
purposes, map was created using the same method and number of classes that the HEMU map. Once defined a desired number of classes (four in this case), the method identifies break points between classes by minimising the sum of the variance within each of the classes (Jenks 1967). Thereafter, the map can vary depending on the specified number of classes and the per hectare values at land cover level constitute the relevant information for management and decision-making processes. Thus, complementarily Annex X also shows the contribution of ESV flow by HEMU to its GDP and income.
Figure 4.3.9. Average ecosystem service value per hectare and year by HEMU for the Catalan coast. Letters indicate HEMU class membership.
Cobb-Douglas production-type indicators represent the relationship of an output to input (Cobb and Douglas 1928). In ecological economics production-type indicators are used to measure the relationship between ESV flow to biophysical and socio-economic characteristics that are relevant to service provision (GIEE 2006). Area, population and GDP were included as inputs since previous analyses have been conducted with these variables in the study. The three variables were included at equal parts in the Production Indicator (PI), as follows:
PI =
ESVflow 3 ( ha·hab·GDP )
PI was calculated for each comarca and results were standardized in a zero to one continuous scores in order to show largest and smallest contributions along the coast. 85
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00 A lt Empo rdà
B aix Empo rdà
Selva
M aresme
B arcelo nès
B aix Llo bregat
Garraf
B aix P enedès
Tarrago nès
B aix Camp
B aix Ebre
M o ntsià
Figure 4.3.10. Production-type indicator showing contributions of area, population and GDP to flow of ecosystem services value by comarca.
Results in Figure 4.3.10 show that the larger the ESV flow estimate and the lower the three independent variables, the better the PI performs (equals one). This could be interpreted as that larger ESV values and area, and lower human influence (inhabitants and development) have better contributions in services flow. But the reacting obvious question is, For what? hasn’t been raised, and therefore an answer formulated yet (although it is very likely that a good answer is for biodiversity conservation and ultimately humans, but in this section a more direct relationship to human well-being is under exploration). In this scenario for the Catalan coast, Southern comarcas accounted for the best compromise among independent variables (see Figures 4.3.6 and 4.3.8), therefore greatest provision performance. However, these results provide a similar picture that in previous comarca analyses and of the HEMU section. A second interpretation can be derived from this analysis if ESV flow and area are though fixed while population and GDP as variables over time. Thereafter, if demography and economy continue to grow as they do now, the question of What areas are more viable to support such increments and thus its influence? becomes relevant. The analysis shows that if an arbitrary 50 % threshold is set to this compromise, only four out of the 12 comarcas are likely to provide viable levels of ecosystem services to citizens. If desirable, threshold can vary for different scenarios and comarcas with different handicaps and buffer levels will be found. A third idea on ecosystem services provisioning can be explored. Although physical barriers do exist in nature, there is most likely that natural areas at Garraf or even further provide an amount of services to citizens in Barcelona (e.g. climate regulation, water supply, pollination, among others). Thus, this is consistent with the need of a natural reserve network in Catalonia that conserve not only individual species or populations but a range of ecological functions that provide services that flow along the entire coast. Although the idea would need further and more detailed development, an analysis of services’ provisioning capacity that is captured in the PEIN will be provided in next section.
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Although this indicator constitutes a static simplification of the complex reality and provides only exploratory results, it is proposed as a relevant tool to integrate ecosystem services provisioning capacity into the integrated coastal zone planning. Finally, even if threshold is largely modified, final conclusions will be just slightly altered: starting with Barcelonès (zero), highly populated and developed comarcas appear to lack of the basic natural infrastructure to sustain even larger socio-economic growth. Limitations of the value transfer approach Previous sub-sections put forward that not all cover types described for the study area were effectively matched to the different ecosystem services. This is the result of the criteria used which focused on Type I literature on ecosystem valuation. Therefore, many landscapes which are of interest from an environmental management perspective simple having not yet been scientifically covered for their non-market values (i.e. most shelf, seagrass, beach and open freshwater services). The data reported in dark gray in Table 4.3.7 show, the 53 ESV obtained from 188 individual estimates found in 94 peer-reviewed empirical valuation literature for the land cover types included in this study. As the table reveals, by expanding the selection criteria to include synthesis studies as Costanza et al. (1997) several gaps were able to be filled. Areas not shaded (in white) represent those situations where it is not expected that a particular ecosystem service is provided (i.e., soil formation by the coastal shelf). Light shading indicates those cells where ES are expected to be provided by a land cover type, but for which (i) there is currently no empirical value estimates, (ii) no value has been found, or (iii) the specified criteria was not satisfied. Those Ecosystem service that based on the available literature are considered relevant to the Catalan coastal zone valuation with no actual value estimates are marked with an asterisk. A global list of ecosystem service provided by the coastal zone land use types can be consulted in Martínez et al. (2007) and UNEP (2006).
Table 4.3.7.Gap analysis of valuation literature by ecosystem service (Type I & II). Domain
Land use cover
1
Coastal & marine Shelf (≤ 50 m)
*
Seagrass bed
*
Beach or dune Terrestrial
2
3
4
5
6
3 *
*
2
*
7
8
1
*
9
10
11
1
*
1
12
13
14
*
1
*
*
*
*
4
1
3
1
15
1
Saltwater wetland
*
3
*
*
*
*
*
4
*
5
Temperate forest
38
*
*
2
1
1
*
1
1
1
8
Grassland
3
*
1
1
2
1
1
1
2
1
2
*
2
8
1
*
14
*
*
8
1
*
3
Cropland Freshwater wetland
1
1
Open freshwater Riparian buffer Urban greenspace
2 3
2
7
*
5
*
9
1
*
* *
*
*
1
*
*
*
* *
*
*
1
2 2
Urban/barren/burned/mining
Note: Ecosystem services: 1 Gas/Climate Regulation; 2 Disturbance Regulation; 3 Water Regulation; 4 Water Supply; 5 Erosion control; 6 Soil Formation; 7 Nutrient Cycling; 8 Waste Treatment; 9 Pollination; 10 Biological Control; 11 Habitat/Refugia; 12 Genetic resources; 13 Aesthetic & Recreation; 14 Cultural & Spiritual.
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Based on the available ESV data in Table 4.3.7, the results presented should be treated as conservative estimates of the total non-market ESV of the Catalan coast. Thereafter, estimated ESV is expected to underestimate the actual ecosystem services valued by the society in the coastal zone. Possibly, the integration of grey literature in the analysis (i.e. technical reports, doctoral theses, government documents, among others) would lead to a larger total ESV flow if data gaps are filled. This data gap is not unique to this study et al. have reported the difficulties of integrating value data from such sources, including commonly difficulties in data standardization, accessibility if data (not always available online), and quality validation (e.g. McComb et al. 2006, Pendleton et al. 2007). Ideally in the future, less data gaps will remain as more studies are integrated into online searchable databases and previous mentioned issues are solved for gray literature to be accessible. Natural capital of the Catalan coast Ecosystem services can be seen as a stream of annual income for citizens and thus as part of the Catalan coast’s total natural capital. To quantify the value of that capital, the stream of benefits from the future flows of ecosystem services need to be converted into a net present value. This process involves discounting of capital (Costanza and Daly 1992). Discounting is the process of finding the present value of an amount of cash at some future date, and most often the discount rate is expressed as an annual rate. However, discounting of the flow ESV from natural assets is controversial (Azar and Sterner 1996). The simplest discounting case assumes a constant flow of services into the future and a constant discount rate, and thus the NPV of the asset is the value of the annual flow divided by the discount rate. The discount rate is a matter of debate since there is no clear reason for choosing a discount rate. Debate has centered over whether a zero discount rate should be used or a constant discount rate over time should be assumed. Costanza et al. (1989) have explored using a range of discount rates and shown that a major source of uncertainty in the valuation is the choice of discount rate. A constant rate assumes exponential discounting, but decreasing, logistic, intergenerational, among other forms of discounting have also been proposed (Azar and Sterner 1996, Sumaila and Walters 2005, Weitzman 1998, Newell and Pizer 2003, 2004). The general NPV form is calculated using:
∞
NPV = ∑ VtWt t =0
where Vt = the value of the service at time t; Wt = the weight used to discount the service at time t. For standard exponential discounting, W t is exponentially decreasing into the future at the discount rate, r.
1 Wt = 1+ r 88
t
Table 4.3.8 shows the results for zero and several discount rates using a standard exponential method for a limited time frame of 100 years. The NPV equation was applied to 3.2±0.5 billion USD, due to the possibilities of overestimation and underestimation of the flow ESV. It is important to note that if not limited the time frame for a zero discount rate on the above equation, the NPV would be infinite. Results show that an annual flow of 3.2 billion USD for 100 years at a zero discount rate yields a NPV of 320 billion USD while using a discount rate of 1 % annual yields a NPV of 6.4 billion USD for the same period. Therefore, major differences arise between using a zero and other discount rate since as the discount rate increases the NPV decreases.
Table 4.3.8. Net present value of annual flow of ecosystem services value of the Catalan coast using a standard exponential method, various discount rates and a period of 100 years. Amounts in billions of USD. Discount rate (%) Flow 9 (USDx10 /yr) 2.7 3.2 3.7
→ → →
0
1
3
5
10
270 320 370
5.40 6.40 7.40
3.60 4.27 4.93
3.24 3.84 4.44
2.97 3.52 4.07
As previously said, there is no clear and unambiguous reason for choosing one a method over the others, or for choosing a particular discount rate. Newell and Pizer (2003) argue for a 4% discount rate, declining to approximately 0 % in 300 years, based on historical data. One could argue that for ecosystem services, the starting rate should be lower. Results presented here intent to demonstrate the economic difference between present estimates of flow of ESV and its translation into natural capital for a future time frame. Since other proposed discount rates have demonstrated to increase the level of uncertainty in the valuation no other NPV methods were performed in this study. NPV calculations are commonly useful in the evaluation of projects, especially in ICZM where cost-benefit analysis is an essential tool (e.g. Bingham et al. 1995). 4.3.4 Conclusions Rather than a single methodology approach this study uses a series of decision rules that has served to estimate the ESV using a value transfer approach in a spatially explicit manner. The results presented in this section indicate that a substantial ESV of 3.2 billion USD is delivered annually to citizens. The study therefore, makes clear that non-market ecosystem services provide an important contribution to human welfare in the coastal zone. ESV flow is the functional result from a diverse matrix of land cover types that are present in the coastal zone. The variability found in the Catalan coast is consistent with previous findings in the ecosystem services literature. It was observed from the literature search that ecosystem services when provided by different land cover types vary substantially in its economic value. However, variability emerges from data in the literature used itself and is not an artefact of the study. Thereafter, people seems to value ecosystem services differently in different biophysical contexts, and the ESV
89
estimates presented in this study reflect that inherent variability. The increasing number of studies measuring ESV (Heal et al. 2005) and online databases (McComb et al. 2006) in the past decade has resulted in improved levels of specificity and reliability of present study. This can be corroborated by comparing the 822 USD/ha·yr obtained from Costanza et al. in 1997 to the 3,463 USD/ha·yr for the Catalan coast. The digital spatial land cover data has also increased recently (with the development of the habitat layer and the future connectivity layer for Catalonia). The increment in spatial and conceptual resolution of these data motivated this study, together with the increase in quality and availability of social, economic and policy data that promised a viable value transfer assessment in the Catalan coast. Although there is presently a lack of contextual diversity in valuation studies (Pendleton et al. 2007), more valuation studies are being developed (Wilson and Hoehn 2006) and across a range of socio-economic and biophysical conditions that could be useful for future studies of the Catalan coast. On per hectare basis, beaches and dunes provided the largest ESV ($ 104,146), accordingly disturbance regulation constituted most valued ecosystem service ($ 77,420). Coastal and marine land covers provide 40.3 % of the total flow value, although they only account for 22 % of the total valuated surface in the study. Single largest contribution in annual basis was provided by forest (41 %) and larger coastalmarine contribution was provided by the continental shelf (19 %). The study suggests that an extra 4.3 % should be added to the available family income, and that the new amount constitutes the total economic and natural annual wealth of the coastal zone in Catalonia. However, the “real” ESV is almost certainly much larger. If one were to try to replace the current ecosystem services, at least an annual increment in GDP of 2.7 % should take place in the study area (since the evaluated services are not captured in GDP). This task would lead to economic wealth deterioration since we would only be replacing existing services, this without having into account that many ecosystem services are irreplaceable. Spatially, value appeared to be concentrated to the North and South comarcas of the study area due to their large and less influenced natural areas. Thereafter, in general results were found consistent with the HEMU geography developed in Section 4.2. Results showed that Montsià had the larger absolute flow ESV (16.5 %), followed by Alt Empordà and Baix Ebre. Opposite, Barcelonès had the lowest contribution to the flow ESV (1.2 %) among comarcas. In average, the Catalan coast accounted for 3,463 USD/ha. However, the per hectare distribution of value in this study included the marine portion of comarcas which provided additional variability if directly compared to HEMU. Therefore marine-terrestrial area distribution determined the nature of comarca’s ESV flow. Due to this, Maresme accounted for a significant 6.7 % of total coastal flow. If we hypothetically had to pay for ecosystem services presently, the price would be much different from what it is today (since markets are driven by complex supplydemand dynamics). The price would be almost certainly greater (Costanza et al. 1997). ESV estimates obtained here can be used to modify the national accounting systems (e.g. EC Land and Ecosystem Accounting System, EEA 2002b) to better reflect the value of natural capital flow. Another use of these results is for project appraisal, since ecosystem services are often ignored or undervalued leading to errors in projects where social costs far outweigh the benefits (Bingham et al. 1995). In a 100 years time frame, NPV was estimated to be 320 billion U.S. dollars (using a zero discount rate). Therefore, this represents the value of natural capital not included in actual markets in the Catalan coast. 90
Nevertheless, even this initial estimate of 3.2 billions USD should be considered a useful starting point. It suggests the need for future research. Some envisioned challenges for the future are: •
Improve the quality and availability of ESV data in empirical peer-reviewed literature.
•
Develop a global land cover typology for the coastal zone to test the biophysical similarity of the policy site and the study site.
•
Increase the consistency in the use of ecosystem service terminology to communicate better the value of ecosystem services.
•
Develop a payment for ecosystem services strategies capable of integrating ESV into markets.
•
Develop socio-economic functions for value transfer assessments, based on alternative indicators as the Genuine Progress Indicator (see Cobb 1995).
•
Integrate the ecosystem services ecological and economic scarcity concepts view into new valuation methods.
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4.4 Integrated ecological and economic value of ecosystem services in the Catalan coast 4.4.1 Introduction The ecosystem services concept has proven useful for landscape management and decision-making. There are two reasons for this: (1) synthesize essential ecological and economic concepts, allowing researchers and managers to link human and ecological systems in a viable and policy relevant manner, and (2) scientists and policy makers can use the concept to evaluate economic and political tradeoffs between landscape development and conservation alternatives. Most valuations of ecosystem goods and services relay on human preferences which are stated through Contingent Valuation (CV) processes. Intrinsic to those preferences are moral compelling arguments that may be in direct conflict with the moral argument to conserve ecosystems. Thereafter, the value of an object or action is tightly coupled with individual’s value system, but people’s perceptions are limited (Costanza 2000). An object or activity may therefore contribute to meeting and individual’s goals without being fully aware of the connection. The value of objects and actions therefore needs to be assessed from the individual’s subjective points of view and from the objective point of view that we know from other sources about the connections (as referred above in the first point, e.g. ecological and institutional dimensions). In 1989 the oil spill accident of the Exxon Valdez ship drew not only attention but also controversy to the CV approach when it became known that a major component of the legal claims for damages. In January 1993 a panel committed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S.A issued a report which concluded that “CV studies can produce estimates reliable enough to be the starting point for judicial or administrative determination of natural resource damages, including lost passive-use value [i.e. non-use value]” (Arrow et al. 1993). At the same time, the controversy about CV also stimulated a substantial body of transdisciplinary ESV research. Applications include conjoint analysis (Mackenzie 1992), meta-analysis (Walsh et al. 1989), group valuation (Jacobs 1997), and multiple criterion decision analysis (Hwang and Yoon 1981). The emergence of these new transdisciplinary methods can be attributed in part to two workshops in 1990s that brought together ESV researchers from different disciplines (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1991 and National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis-UCSB 1999, summarized in special issues of Ecological Economics in 1995 and 1998 respectively). The organizers of the first workshop expressed that “the challenge of improving ecosystem valuation methods presents an opportunity for partnership between ecologists, economists, other social disciplines and local communities. Interdisciplinary dialogue is essential to the task of developing improved methods for valuing ecosystem attributes” (Bingham et al. 1995). Participants from the second workshop concluded that “there is clearly not one ‘correct’ set of concepts or techniques. Rather there is a need for conceptual pluralism and thinking ‘outside the box’” (Farber et al. 2002). Ecosystems are complex adaptive systems that perform ecological functions based on its biotic and abiotic elements and the organizing structure that they develop. Thereafter, here are several characteristics of ecosystems that may influence its value. In human-dominated ecosystems, as the coast is, can be considerable changes in the capacity of ecosystems to maintain their structure, resilience and productivity and 92
therefore provide ecosystem services (Rapport et al. 1998). Accordingly, the capacity of ecosystems to provide services constitutes a relevant measurable proxy of the overall social-ecological system’s sustainability. Furthermore, the provision of ecosystem services to humans depends on the flow of healthy ecosystem functions. Spatial analysis is fundamental to ecosystem services valuation because both the production of biophysical functions and social determinants of service benefits depend upon the landscape context in which those functions and services arise (Bockstael 1996). Joint models of ecosystems and of economic activity have played an important role in environmental policy since the seminal work of Kneese and Bower (1968). Separately, ecology and economics have advanced much faster that the integrated methods necessary for real integrated descriptive and power. The construction of an indicator of provision capacity of ecosystem services would have three fundamental challenges. First, ecological services must be measured in standardized units. Second, given the lack of markets, service’s price will have to be obtained via individual preferences. Third, ecosystem services flow depends on biophysical stocks, and thus commonly influenced by human activities. Other carrying capacity type composite indicators have been used before in ecological and economic sciences as sustainability proxies. The indicator of impact on the environment resulting from consumption developed by Ehrlich and Holdren (1971) is another way of stating the carrying capacity equation for humans that substitutes impact for resource depletion and adds the technology term to cover different living standards. In this approach money affects carrying capacity, but it is too general a term for accurate carrying capacity calculation. The concept of ecological footprint was also developed to examine differential consumption by humans (Rees 1992). By calculating the average consumption of humans over a small area, projections can be made for that type of population's impact on the environment (Wackernagel and Yount 2004). The ecological footprint index is calculated every year on per hectare basis. However, these measures allow the possibility to use resource substitutes through either technology or unfair distribution which is not compatible with nature conservation and thus ecosystem services science as developed in this study. In the last three decades economic growth has opened new opportunities in Catalonia; however it has also caused a series of negative ecological dysfunctions (Marull 2003). Recently, several local and regional initiatives have demonstrated the regional interest on assessing the environmental value of the coastal zone and its performance towards sustainability (i.e. WWF 2000, Vicente 2004, CADS 2005, DMAH 2005b, DMAH 2006b, EEA 2006b, OSE 2006). In parallel, the ecosystem approach guidelines proposed by the Convention on Biological Diversity urge for a novel research that facilitates integration of data from biological, physical, social and economic disciplines into an Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) schema. The ecosystem approach seeks for a “strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way” (CBD 1999). The approach must be able to incorporate data that span multiple spatiotemporal scales, matching the scale of the science to the scale of the system, and the scales of management to those of natural processes (Hilborn et al. 2005). The objective of this study is to present an integrated ecological and economic value assessment of the economic benefits provided by the Catalan coast natural environment. The study identified valuable ecological predictors that when used in conjunction with human influence predictors would further the accuracy of the economic valuation process by integrating ecosystems’ capacity to deliver services. The integrated assessment uses the best available ecological and economic data 93
sources, and analytical techniques to generate value estimates that can be integrated into EBM decision-making in the study area. 4.4.2 Methodological approach To perform the above mentioned integrated assessment, the Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index (ESPCI) has been developed. This index aggregates information on the ecological value of habitats (positive characteristics) and how they are influenced by humans and their fragility (negative characteristics). This ESPCI will later be used to modulate the economic ESV estimated in previous Section 4.3 and provide an integrated value of the Catalan coast ecosystem services. Due to the lack of adequate information concerning the marine dimension of the coastal zone in Catalonia, this study presents results only for the terrestrial domain of this area. Components of the ESPCI are: (i) Ecological Index, (ii) Human Footprint Index, and (iii) Fragility Index, described below in Figure 4.4.1.
Sub-indicator
Partial index
General index
Vegetation richness Vegetation rarity Implantation area
EI Ecological Index
Succession stage Biogeographic representation
Coastal erosion Population influence Land transformation Human access
ESPCI HFI Human Footprint Index
Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index
Tourism Heavy industry
FI Fragility Index
Figure 4.4.1. Elements included in the development of the Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index of the Catalan coast.
4.4.3 Ecological Index (EI) The EI measures the ecological value of the Catalan coast natural and semi-natural areas. The valuation goal here constitutes the contribution of ecosystems to its services’ provision capacity. Thereafter, for the purposes of this section the definition of ecological value of the coast refers as follows: the value of coastal ecosystems without reference to anthropogenic use. This definition is similar to the definition used by Smith and Theberge (1986): the assessment of ecosystem qualities per se, regardless of
94
social interests (i.e. non-use value). Although by ecosystem qualities the authors of the latter paper covered all levels of biodiversity, from genetic diversity to ecosystem functions. Since habitat constituted the larger flow of ESV provided annually by the Catalan coast (40.9 % estimated in Section 4.3), in this section, ecological values will be assessed at the habitat level which represents the ecological structure that an assemblage that many species use to provide ecosystem services. The capacity of a given ecosystem to perform functions depends on many environmental characteristics (components and processes). Biological and ecological valuation assessments have been developed primarily for terrestrial species and environments (de Blust et al. 1994). However, several international initiatives to select coastal-marine ecological criteria already exist in the literature (see comprehensive discussion on parameter in de Groot 1992, Derous et al. submitted). Likewise, relevant ecological criteria needed to develop environmental plans and natural capital conservation has been identified in Catalonia (i.e. Mallarach 1999, Germain and Mallarach 2004, Sardá et al. 2005, Marull 2005, MMA 2005b, Toldra 2005). The valuation criteria used were developed based in part on the Natural Heritage Value Index (NHVI) framework developed for future Strategic Environmental Valuation processes in Catalonia (Marull et al. 2004). The selected criteria have also significant similarities with other ecological valuation processes of the coastal-marine environment (i.e. DFO 2004, Derous et al. submitted). The proposed method represents a synthesis of ecological and biogeographically characteristics of the coastal zone. It assumes that vegetation constitutes a good indicator of ecosystems in the terrestrial domain. Thereafter communities and associations are considered as reliable biodiversity proxies (see de Groot 1992 and Marull et al. 2004 for an explanation on vascular vegetation as ecological indicator). As presented in Figure 4.4.1, the ecological value was assessed using a set of five spatial sub-indicators which represent Catalonia coast’s ecological relevance, being: vegetation species richness, vegetation rarity, implantation area, succession stage and biogeographic representation. Sub-indicators were chosen on the basis of data availability and their independent capacity to represent main ecological characteristics of the coast. It is expected that this reduced number of variables is capable if predicting the ecological value (Meentemeyer and Box 1987). To map the sub-indicators, the terrestrial habitats of Catalonia vector GIS layer at a cartographic scale of 1:50,000 was used (DMAH 2006c). The habitats layer which is based on vascular vegetation polygons, was used in this study due to the relevance of vascular vegetation communities in ecosystem functioning and as a first approach to ecosystem dynamics understanding (de Groot 1992, Kiester et al. 1996). Each subindicator constitutes a vector spatial layer that was transformed into a discrete variable with a four value range for each polygon (1 low, 2 medium, 3 high, 4 very high). Values were extracted directly from the habitat layer and populated the NHVI database and integrated in this study (Marull et al. 2004). Ecological properties in the database correspond to analysis conducted between 1998 and 2003. Sub-indicators of each habitat polygon were summed and re-scaled between one (low value) and 10 (very high value) scores to integrate the EI following the equation: EI = 1 + [ 9 ( α i- α min) / ( α max- α min) ]
95
where α i represents the sum of all five values in each habitat polygon and, α max and α min correspond to the minimum (five) and maximum (20) values of the sum respectively. Table 4.4.1 shows a synthesis of discrete sub-indicator values. Relevant information on construction of each sub-indicator is described next. Descriptive statistics of sub-indicators can be reviewed in Annex XI. Table 4.4.1. Sub-indicators included in the Ecological Index of the Catalan coast. Values Sub-indicator Vegetation richness
1
2
3
4 > 30 spp
< 10 spp
10-20 spp
20-30 spp
Vegetation rarity
0 spp
1-2 spp
3-7 spp
> 7 spp
Implantation area
> 250 ha
50-250 ha
10-50 ha
< 10 ha
Initial
Low maturity
Interm. maturity
High maturity
Large region
Interm. region
Small region
Endemic
Succession stage Biogeographic representation
Species richness constitutes a basic indicator of natural areas (Gotelli and Colwell 2001). In this study, species richness was defined as habitats’ mean vascular flora species, without integrating the relative frequency of species present. Value discretization has been done by expert knowledge using inventory data from BIOCAT database (http://biodiver.bio.ub.es/biocat/homepage.html) (see Table 4.4.1). Vegetation associations from BIOCAT and the list of species of Catalonia were reconciled with the habitat layer legend. In the case of habitats with only one association, the statistical mode was used as a reliable indicator of association’s richness. Species richness for each polygon constitutes the sum of each habitat value weighted by its extent. Vegetation rarity was used as a modulator of possible negative effects integrated by the lack of species richness specificity (Lyons et al. 2005). In this case, rarity was measured as the presence of endemic species and rare communities in the habitats of Catalonia. It was calculated as the maximum value on each habitat polygon. Rare species were obtained from the list of Rare, Threatened and Endemic Plants of Catalonia (Sáez and Soriano 2000). A total of 276 species and subspecies are considered endemic or sub-endemic in Catalonia. The implantation area indicator, value inversely the mean habitat extent. It suggests that the smaller the area of implantation, the larger the effect of anthropogenic impacts in the association. Values were assigned based on expert knowledge and the mean surface of habitats in each polygon (see Table 4.4.1; Marull et al. 2004). The final value assigned to each polygon in the habitat layer corresponds to the maximum of all habitats inside the polygon. The sub-indicator of ecosystem’s succession stage measures the vegetation proximity to its potential climax state or maturity. It was discretized in four levels (1) initial: instable but with high evolutionary capacity (i.e. agricultural land, reforested areas, riparian areas), (2) low maturity: areas related to human pressures in general (i.e. logging, fires, ranging), (3) intermediate maturity: areas closer to the potential habitat (i.e. deciduous forest, secondary pine forest with understory integrated by potential habitat species), and (4) high maturity: composed of a permanent or climax community.
96
The biogeographic representation values the habitats based on its distribution area’s singularity according to Carrillo et al. (2003) and Ferré et al. (2004). Habitats were classified using expert knowledge and integrated the following criteria (1) its extension, being cosmopolitan habitats of less value; (2) its relationship to biogeographic limits, i.e. latitudinal, altitudinal, therefore habitats with restricted distributions and on their limits will be highly valued (i.e. Northern limit of Iberian xerantic scrubs), and (3) special situations as littoral habitats. The maximum value of all habitats inside the polygon was assigned to each habitat layer polygon. The biogeographic representation sub-indicator is of particular relevance to biodiversity conservation, since it represents the valuable populations and habitats of a taxon distribution’s center at local and regional scales. A relevant issue related to parameter aggregation in ecological composite indicators is the redundancy between the sub-indicators selected (Andrearsen et al. 2001). Bivariate comparisons were performed to EI ordinal sub-indicators using the Kendall’s Tau-b statistic; see Table 4.4.2 (Agresti 1984). The largest correlation was found among succession stage and biogeographic representation with an r2 of 0.502. However, they were considered as independent variables due to the observed capacity to independently value different aspects of the ecological value of the coastal zone (including the spatial representation). Table 4.4.2. Bivariate comparisons of sub-indicators of the Ecological Index of the Catalan coast. All Kendall’s Tau-b correlations were significant (p < 0.01). Vegetation Vegetation Implantation Succession Biogeographic stage rep. richness rarity area Veg. richness Veg. rarity
0.086
Implantation area
-0.103
0.035
Succession stage
0.289
0.019
-0.419
Biogeographic rep.
0.367
0.072
-0.366
0.709
Figure 4.4.2 shows the EI map. The average EI score along the Catalan coast was five (σ = 2). Higher EI scores (10) were found in natural temperate forest communities due to a combination of biological and biogeographic values; while lowest scores (1) correspond to urban areas, timber plantations and open freshwater flows or water bodies associated to municipal or industrial areas.
97
Figure 4.4.2. Distribution of the ecological Index of the Catalan coast. Scale represents higher (10) and lower (1) ecological value.
Figure 4.4.3 shows the relationship between the average EI and ESV of the different land covers of the coast. It was determined from Figure 4.4.3 that land covers with higher EI scores in average were beach or dune (6.1), temperate forest (6.1) and freshwater wetlands (6.0), while lower values were obtained by urban greenspace (2.0) and riparian buffer (2.9). Although both curves share similar patterns, there are differences among land covers with higher and lower scores. Similarities on beach or dune, saltwater wetland and freshwater wetland enhance the relevance of the shoreline of the entire coastal zone from both, the ecology and economics disciplines. Therefore, differences might correspond to those of the essential concepts behind the two valuation methods, i.e. value of services provided by nature to us versus per se value of nature regardless of any social interests.
98
120,000
7.0 Average EI 6.0
Average ESV
5.0
100,000 80,000
EI
60,000 3.0
ESV
4.0
40,000
2.0
20,000
1.0 0.0
0 Beach or dune
Saltwater wetland
Temperate forest
Grassland
Cropland
Freshwater Open wetland freshwater
Riparian buffer
Urban greenspace
Figure 4.4.3. Average Ecological Index and ecosystem services value flow (2004 USD/yr) by land cover of the Catalan coast.
More complex composite indicators related to the ecosystem services provisioning capacity estimation goal have been reported in the literature (i.e. biotic integrity index and habitat suitability index). However, few of them have been widely accepted in ecology (Banzhaf and Boyd 2005). The EI constitutes a composite indicator which has been developed based on ecological characteristics of Catalonia and due to this, it can not be directly applied to other ecoregion or biogeographic region without being adapted. The relative homogeneity of the EI scores compared to those in ESV could be interpreted as the result of the use of EI criteria in this assessment. EI sub-indicators provide a specific view of the non-use value and therefore can be used independently to investigate the particular conditions across areas (i.e. comarcas) and land covers (i.e. as a complementary analysis to that presented in Figure 4.4.3). The quantitative nature of the EI provides practical advantages in communicating results to managers and technicians, thereafter in coastal zone planning. 4.4.4 Human Footprint Index (HFI) HFI measures the relative human influence in each land cover of the study area. Changes in the environmental state of the coast are the result of interactions between human and biophysical sub-systems (UNESCO 1997, DMAH 2004, Vafeidis et al. 2004). HFI was used in present study due to the relevance of human influence in the Catalan coastal zone (DMAH 2004) and the need to understand its effects in ecosystem services provisioning. As presented in Figure 4.4.1, human influence was assessed using a set of spatial subindicators which represented six Catalan coast’s drivers of change: population activities, industrial and energy development, food production, resource extraction, recreational activities, and transportation. Thereafter, sub-indicators of such drivers were chosen on the basis of their independent capacity to represent their influence in natural and seminatural areas, being: (1) population influence (2005), (2) land transformation (2003), (3) coastal erosion (2004), (4) tourism activities (2003), (5) heavy industry (2004), and (6) human access (1997) (year of data in parenthesis). Similarly to the case of EI, a reduced number of variables is desirable for prediction of the human influence. As a result, this analysis focuses on proxies of population, its activities and infrastructure
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that have the most immediate impacts on ecosystem services provisioning and for which spatial data were readily available. Table 4.4.3 shows sub-indicators of human influence used, along with their pressure factor, impact factor and value range. Values were based on pressure factors derived from each selected driver and converted into spatial impact using published scientific studies and consultation with coastal zone experts. Therefore, some variables were considered to be more relevant in terms of influence that others and thus different values were assigned. Table 4.4.3. Sub-indicators integrated in the Human Influence Index of the Catalan coast. Driver(s)
Sub-indicator
Pressure factor(s)
Impact factor(s)
Value
Source
Coastal alteration for tourism & protection
Coastal erosion
Confirmed and prob. erosion
100 m
0, 4, 8
1
Change induced by population activities
Population influence
Population density
Municipality
1 to 10
2
Change induced by human uses
Land transformation
Land cover & roads
Land cover / 600 m
0 to 18
3,4
Resources extraction, hunting & disposal
Human access
Rivers, roads & coastline
300 / 600 / 1000 m
0,4
4
Recreational activities
Tourism
Seasonal population
Comarca
1 to 3
2
Economic and energy development
Heavy industry
Chemical plant / other
1 / 13 km
0,1,8
5
Source: (1) Eurosion 2005, (2) IDESCAT 2006, (3) DMAH 2006c, (4) DMAH 1997, (5) GenCat 2004.
Coastal erosion is one of the most used (if not the most) variables to characterize the status of the coastal zone from the physical stand point. The main reason is that determines the decrease in available coastal emerged surface that could affect existing uses and resources. In the case of Catalonia a large part of the coastline is experiencing long term erosion mainly due to human-induced factors such as ports that interrupt littoral dynamics and decrease in sediment supply from rivers (Jiménez 1995). In this sense, the Eurosion project (2005) proposed a classification of the European coast according to coast stability and its probability to be eroded. The information compiled in that study was used to characterize the coastline stability in Catalonia. Using a fixed impact factor of 100 m landwards of the coastline, a score of eight was associated to confirmed eroded coast, four to probable eroded coast and zero to prograding or stable coasts. The number of people is frequently cited as a primary cause of declines in species and ecosystems (Cincotta and Engelman 2000). However, there is little guidance in the literature about how human influence exactly scales with human population density (Forester and Machlis 1996). The consequences of interactions between population density and the environment depend on the nature of the interaction and the particular species, processes and ecosystems in question. In this study a continuum approach was used using municipality data from 2005. In which human influence scores for densities between 1 and 10 persons per hectare increased linearly from 1 to 10 and the score above 10 persons per hectare was maintained constant at 10 as suggested by Sanderson et al. (2002). The study assumes that human influence in the coastal zone attributable solely to human population density reaches an asymptote at some level, though at what density that influence even occurs is uncertain. The impact extent was set to the municipality.
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Called the single greatest threat to biological diversity, land transformation has resulted in loss and fragmentation of habitat in many different ecosystem types (Vitousek 1997). Human begins transforming land to build settlements, grow food, and produce other economic goods. Different land uses, however, differ in the extent to which they modify ecosystem processes, and affect the quality of habitat for different species (Forman 1995, Goudie 2000). A maximum score of 10 was assigned to built-up areas; lower scores of eight to burned areas, six to cropland, four to beach or dunes and mixed grasslands, and zero to barren areas, forest and all others. Land transformation also includes the direct effects of roads and railways on species and ecosystems. Not all species and ecosystems are equally affected by roads, but overall the presence of roads is highly correlated with changes in species composition, including increases in nonnative invasive species, decreased native species populations through direct and indirect mortality and modification of the hydrological cycle (Trombulak and Frissell 2000). Lalo (1987) estimated that 1 million vertebrates a day are killed on roads in the United States. Likewise, Forman and Deblinger (2000) estimated that the effects of roads in the United States extend over a band approximately of 600 m wide. Thereafter, a buffer of 600 m to each side of roads and railways, and a fixed score of eight were used here. Roads, major rivers and the coastline provide opportunities for hunting, extracting other resources, polluting, and disruption of natural systems (Gucinski et al. 2001). To measure the area affected by human access to natural resources, Sanderson et al. (2002) estimated the distance a person can walk in one day in a difficult accessible ecosystem (i.e. tropical moist forest), as 15 km. However, due to the larger road coverage in developed countries as the Catalan coast is, this estimate appears to be large enough to cover the entire study area. Therefore, a fixed score of four was assigned to buffers of 300 m for rivers and streams, 600 m for roads and railways and 1000 m for the coastline. The Catalan coast is dominated by tourist activities (Sardá et al. 2005). Although, having a diverse economy, tourism in Catalonia represents one of the most important activities in the coastline and it accounts for 10.8 % of the Gross National Product in Catalonia (DCTC 2002). Therefore, tourism and secondary residence urbanization processes have contributed substantially to the artificialization of the coastline, with a consequence in the reduction of natural areas along the coast. Seasonal population estimates in 2003 were used to determine tourism pressure on comarcas’ natural environment (IDESCAT 2006). Three classes of seasonal population were used to represent its pressure and scores of one (less seasonal population) to three (larger) were assigned accordingly to each comarca. Chemical and other transformation heavy industry poles constitute a major pressure factor along coastal natural environment (i.e. energy plants, oil refineries). Impacts from these economic development activities are derived from a variety of emissions, wastes disposal, and ultimately from the landscape transformation they originate. Although emissions are commonly quantified on environmental accounting and impact studies, pressure over surrounding natural areas is normally not monitored, nor mitigated (Power et al. 2006). In Catalonia, using the Chemical Industry of Tarragona Emergency Plan approved by the Generalitat, it was estimates that maximum impact could extent over an area of 13 km around the plants (GenCat 2004). Although, this is considered to be a very conservative estimate no other impact data was found for the study area. Thereafter, due to more constant pressures on areas closer to the plants a score of eight was assigned to an impact buffer of one kilometre from main industrial areas along the coastal zone. Similarly a score of one was assigned to less frequent impacted areas within a butter pf 13 km from industrial areas. Although in the case of a nuclear event from the Vandellos II plant near Tarragona a much larger catastrophic 101
effect at a global scale would take place, due to the difficulty to estimate these impacts in an objective way, only its normal functioning impacts were taken into account in this study (i.e. water cooling). Spatial datasets of the study area were combined in the GIS to integrate the influence sub-indicators, following: (1) geographic projection standardization to UTM 31 and European Datum 1950, (2) converting them as overlying grids at a square cell resolution of 50 x 50 m, and (3) attributing each sub-indicator dataset into values that reflect their estimated contribution to human influence using an ordinal scale (being zero lowest influence). The quality-control scheme was based on the following criteria: (1) a 1:50,000 sub-national cartographic scale or larger, (2) whether the source was official (confirmed sources) or not, and (3) data update criteria (recent). Descriptive statistics of sub-indicators can be reviewed in Annex XII. Human influence scores for each sub-indicator were summed in each cell to create the Human Influence Index (HII) in the GIS, as preliminary step in calculating the HFI. The HII constitutes a direct aggregation of human influence in each land cover of the study area and have a maximum score of 51 and a minimum score of one. Table 4.4.4 shows the redundancy analysis conducted to the influence sub-indicators using the Kendall’s Tau-b statistic. All bivariate comparisons resulted statistical significant and below a 50 % of variance explanation. This result was expected due to conceptual differences in selected proxies and large number of cells on grids. The largest correlation among subindicators was found between the access and land transformation (r2 = 0.483). This result was expected beause parameters in land transformation sub-indicator includes roads and railways influence. Table 4.4.4. Bivariate comparisons of sub-indicators of the Human Influence Index of the Catalan coast. All Kendall’s Tau-b correlations were significant (p < 0.001). Tourism
Land transf.
Pop. inf.
Access
Heavy ind.
Erosion
Tourism Land transformation
0.080
Population influence
-0.057
0.284
Access
0.044
0.695
0.226
Heavy industry
0.150
0.203
0.375
0.123
-0.020
0.019
0.059
0.033
Erosion
0.024
An average HII of 14.5 (σ = 8.3), maximum (51) and a minimum of one (1) were reported in the Catalan coast. Thereafter, the entire Catalan coast was found to be subject of human influence to some extent. From HII histogram in Figure 4.4.4 can be interpreted that most cells in the grid were part of the 13 to 23 score classes which are part of the lower influence side of the graph. Furthermore, a large number of cells were within the 1 to 6 score class were influence is at its lowest level. Annex XIII shows the summary of the Human Influence Index scores by ecosystem and dimension. As expected, largest influences were reported on the urban (average = 27.9 and overall maximum score = 51) and urban greenspace (average = 23.6) land covers. While lowest average score corresponded to temperate forest (9.2). Therefore, due to land cover surface representation in the coastal zone, higher influenced areas correspond to 8.7 % (urban, burned, barren and mining), while 37.6 % to the less influenced areas (forest).
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Note: last two class groups (40-45 & 46-51) are not shown due to scale.
Figure 4.4.4. Histogram of Human Influence Index of the Catalan coast.
The HII, like the GLOBIO methodology (UNEP 2001), treats the land surface as if it were a blank slate on which human influence is written. However, since this is not the case, the distribution of major ecosystems modifies the biological outcomes of human influence (Chapin et al. 2000). For example, an absolute value of 40 in urban greenspace has a definitively different effect, and biological context, in coastal wetlands. Similarly to Sanderson et al. (2002) and since this study is interested in understanding the interaction between human influence and the natural environment in the coastal zone, HII values were normalized within land covers in the Catalan coast. As a result, a zero score was assigned to the grid cell with minimum HII value in each land cover and a score of 100 to the cell with maximum value. This method stretches the intermediate values linearly between those extremes. The result is the HFI which expresses as a percentage the relative human influence in every land cover of the Catalan coastal zone. Therefore, a score of 10 in a coastal wetland indicates that the grid cell is part of the 10 % least influenced or wildest are in its land cover, although the absolute influence value may be quite different. Due to this, the HFI comprises a relevant biodiversity conservation tool to identify those areas were protection actions could have the higher impact on the coastal zone (Sanderson et al. 2002). Average HFI score was 41 (σ = 8.0). Although urban and urban greenspace accounted for a score of 49, beach or dunes obtained the largest footprint score, 50 (both followed closely by freshwater wetlands = 48). This can be the result of the urban and tourist development that the Catalan coast has been subject in the last three decades (Marull 2003). In fact there is considerable variation in levels of mean human influence and mean HII between land covers, as shown in Figure 4.4.5. More evident difference corresponds to cropland among the coast.
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55
45
35
Average HII Average HFI
25
15
5 Beach or dune
Saltwater wetland
Temperate forest
Grassland
Cropland
Freshwater wetland
Open freshwater
Riparian buffer
Urban greenspace
Urban
Figure 4.4.5. Average Human Influence Index and Human Footprint Index by land cover of the Catalan coast.
Figure 4.4.6 shows the resulting HFI map. The map constitutes the spatial distribution of less and higher influenced coastal ecosystems by human activities and infrastructure. The map clearly shows that areas closer to the shoreline are subject of higher human footprint, while those in the hinterland are more natural. Similarly, map shows that HFI keeps a fare relationship with higher developed and less natural HEMU. It can be interpreted in general, that the Barcelona area represents the larger human footprint along the coast (including metropolitan area of the Baix Llobregat comarca). To some extent the HFI also represents artificial versus natural areas, since it is based on manmade infrastructure as cities, industrial areas, roads, etc. This characteristic is also relevant when the identification of wildest areas for conservation purposes is the goal.
Figure 4.4.6. Distribution of the Human Footprint Index of the Catalan coast. Scale represents higher (100) and lower (0) human influence as percentage.
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This geography of human influence represents roughly the inverse of the geography of natural processes and patterns in the Catalan coast. Given what we know about the effects of the input factors on nature, we expect that where human influence is highest, ecosystems will be most modified and species under the most pressure from human activity. Where the human footprint scores are lower, we expect more intact and functional natural communities. The exact consequences of human influence in any given location are complicated, however, and depend of the history of the place, the types of the current influence, and the parts of nature that we are concerned with (Redford and Richter 1999). 4.4.5 Fragility Index (FI) FI represents the vascular vegetation sensitivity to land cover change in Catalonia. The concept as used here is opposed to stability and could be used as a proxy for integrated vulnerability, due to the relatedness of ecosystem’s structure constituents, i.e. soil and vegetation. FI values have been extracted from the NHVI database. According to Marull et al. (2004) have been determined using land cover simulations based on four aspects related to ecosystems, (1) disappearance probability due to landscape change, (2) ecological resilience, (3) disappearance due to habitat dependence on specific ecological conditions, and (4) extreme events in Catalonia. FI values are associated to the habitat layer and were transformed into a discrete variable with a four value range for each polygon (1 low, 2 medium, 3 high, 4 very high). Similarly to data that integrates the EI, fragility data correspond to analysis conducted between 1998 and 2003. Figure 4.4.7 represents the spatial distribution of ecological fragility across ecosystems in the coastal zone. High scores in map reflect that there is a combination of productivity and structure properties but no resilience in ecosystems. Resilience is enhanced by nature variation and prevents systems from reaching a brittle state (Rapport et al. 1998). Fragile habitats are associated to urban and infrastructure development in the Catalan coast. Thereafter, areas associated to high fragility scores constitute those with higher probabilities to suffer severe degradation or even disappear due to land transformation processes.
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Figure 4.4.7. Distribution of the Fragility Index of the Catalan coast. Scale represents higher (4) and lower (1) fragility values.
Average FI along the study area equals 1.7. Although fragility in this study was estimated using vegetation associations, it was assumed that being the matrix for most ecosystem processes fragile vegetation lead to unhealthy habitats with low capacity to provide services at the ecosystem level. Patterns interpreted from Figure 4.4.8 show that in general littoral-related ecosystems account for higher fragility (i.e. freshwater wetlands, 4; saltwater wetlands, 3.1; and beaches or dunes, 1.9), while terrestrial ones were found to have lower scores. The lower score of open freshwater systems is considered to be the effect of accounting water bodies and flow’s vegetation into riparian systems and not into them itself (see a description of methods used in Marull et al. 2004).
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4
3
2
1 Beach or dune
Saltwater wetland
Temperate forest
Grassland
Cropland
Freshwater wetland
Open freshwater
Riparian buffer
Urban greenspace
Figure 4.4.8. Average Fragility Index by land cover of the Catalan coast.
4.4.6 Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index (ESPCI) The provision of ecosystem services to humans depends on the flow of healthy ecosystem functions (Rapport et al. 1998). However, the lack of clear understanding of how the functioning of an ecosystem translates into a flow of ecosystem services from that ecosystem is a serious obstacle (de Groot 2002). Therefore the estimation of the capacity of ecosystems to provide its services is not straight forward, and ideally measurements should integrate thresholds to different feedbacks and minimum extent to support functions of each relevant function and service. Consequently, a methodology to determine ecosystem services’ provision capacity has not been found in the literature. Ecosystem functioning is influenced by both environmental and human-originated feedbacks. In this study, predictors of the health of ecosystem functioning will be used to estimate its provisioning capacity, and thus incorporate the SES dynamics and feedbacks. Since ESV estimated in Section 4.3 has been obtained entirely based on human preferences (using basically CV), ESPCI will influence ecosystem services value by merging ecology and economics in an integrated valuation. Predictors in Figure 4.4.1 were integrated into the ESPCI following the next equation which is divided in two main groups: ESPCI = EI – (HFI · FI) The first group corresponds to the per se value of ecosystems and is represented by the Ecological Index which is expected to enhance functioning and thus ESV flow. Alternatively, the second group corresponds to the combined measurement of the Human Footprint Index and the ecological Fragility Index of ecosystems, which is expected to limit ecosystems’ efficiency and thus reduce ESV flow. Together the two groups constitute in a mathematical practical way the integration of two relevant views that determine the provisioning of ecosystem services and that are not commonly integrated into the valuation processes. Furthermore, the assessed state of the selected components is what will be proposed to predict the sustainability of the coastal SES.
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Individual indexes were mapped in the GIS using the terrestrial habitats of Catalonia (DMAH 2006c). The HFI (0 to 100 scores) and FI (1 to 4) indexes of each habitat polygon were linearly aggregated and re-scaled between 0 (lowest fragility and influence) and 10 (highest fragility and influence) scale using the same equation to calculate the EI (see Section 4.4.3). The resulting scores were then subtracted to the EI (1 to 10 scores) and represented in final -9 to 10 scores. The scale represents positive and negative service provisioning fluctuations of coastal ecosystems in Catalonia. Thus, fluctuations constitute the result of properties increasing and decreasing ESV flow. In the absence of human influence ESV flow is linearly increased by its EI. However in presence of influence, it will be reduced by the combined effect of FI and HFI on its EI. A minimum value has been imposed to avoid the existence of a zero value to any piece of the territory because it was assumed that even the most degraded area will play a residual role in ecosystem functioning. This residual value has been set equal to the 10 % (arbitrary) of the habitat with lowest ESV. Since the lowest value corresponded to grassland with an ESV of $ 230 USD/ha·yr the residual value in this study was $ 23 USD/ha·yr. This is based in the assumption that the information available at a cartographic scale of 1:50,000 do not provide an adequate level of analysis, and thus a minimum capacity of 10 % was assigned. Therefore ESPCI was calculated as follows: if
EI – (HFI · FI) ≥ 0
then
if
EI – (HFI · FI) < 0
then
ESPCI = 1 + [(EI – (HFI · FI)) / 10]
Rv = 0.1 · ESVmin β = 1 – (Rv / ESV) ESPCI = 1 + [((EI – (HFI · FI)) / 10) · (β / 0.9)]
where, Rv = residual value, ESVmin = land cover with lowest ESV in USD/ha·yr calculated in Section 4.3, β = negative slope, ESV = ecosystem services value in USD/ha·yr calculated in Section 4.3. Figure 4.4.9 shows that if index product (aggregation) is positive or zero then it constitutes ESPCI directly. In contrary, if index product is negative then ESPCI is a function of the negative slope of residual value. Figure shows how direct aggregation method recalculates value in a linear way and ESPCI scores increment habitat value linearly up to the double (100 %).
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ESPCI
2
1
in
V= ES
Vm ES
ES
V
=
0· 0.1
ES
V min
0.1
0 -9
0
10
EI – ( HFI · FI)
Figure 4.4.9. Calculation of the Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index.
Catalan coast’s ESV flow following an efficient allocation goal has been calculated in previous Section 4.3. The estimated ESV flow of 3.2 billion USD/yr was based on stated-preferences by humans and followed a value transfer approach. In this section, ESV flow estimate will be based on an integrated ecological and economic approach and pursuing the same valuation goal. Thereafter, integrated flow value was calculated as a linear function of the ecosystem’s capacity to provide services, as follows: I-ESV flow = ESV flow · ESPCI where, I-ESV = integrated ESV flow in USD/yr, ESV = ESV flow in USD/yr calculated in Section 4.3. 4.4.7 Application of the ESPCI In Section 4.3, preference-based ESV was attached to specific land covers, while in this new integrated approach the flow of ESV was considered a function of ecological properties and human influence of ecosystem’s infrastructure that provide services. Therefore, ecological characteristics (EI) and human influence (HFI and FI) on ecosystems were included in the ESPCI, which represents the capacity of ecosystems to provide a flow of ecosystem services. Therefore, the capacity to supply services by a given ecosystem depends on the relationship between its properties and the indirect environmental state of such, measured by the human influence. Similar to the carrying capacity concept used in ecology and economics, the ESPCI represents the services’ supply level not only given the productivity, but its efficiency and resilience (i.e. measured by communities’ richness, ecological maturity, fragility). In 109
the other hand, ESPCI constitutes a range of provision levels that increases or decreases stated-preference value. Thereafter, ecosystem’s value increases by having more and rare species and being in a mature stage; and decreases by having a larger fragility and human footprint (i.e. closer to the coast, roads and to urban areas). Zero ESPCI score represents no change in value. Frequently valuable ecological properties measured and the negative influence provided by humans resulted in a zero score, meaning that healthy ecosystems’ properties (i.e. per se value) provide essential life infrastructure to maintain functions even in the event of a similar magnitude human influence. Due to its spatially explicit nature ESPCI can be assessed at practically any desired ecological or management unit, while carrying capacity type indicators tend to average the ability to sustain a population either at larger ecoregions or at national basis. Furthermore, carrying capacity type indicators integrate the possibility to use resource substitutes through either technology or unfair distribution, i.e. in Catalonia with an ecological footprint of 3.9 hectares per person exceeds 8.2 times its total surface (CADS 2005); while the flow of ecosystem services has no market price and there will therefore be no price signal to policy makers that substitutes are needed before total depletion. Although a measurement of flow sustainability was considered initially in this work, the resulting measurement constitutes a conservative estimate of such capacity due to the data available for the analysis. The map in Figure 4.4.10 represents the distribution of habitats’ capacity to provide a flow of ecosystem services. Map shows that larger areas with higher provisioning capacity are in the hinterland of the Catalan coast. Similarly, distribution shows that those areas are associated to more natural spaces and not close to urban or impervious zones. In general, Barcelona metropolitan area, Tarragona and littoral areas, account for lower provisioning capacity that the rest of the studied area. This was found especially relevant with scores around zero, since intermediate scores represent more complex combinations of parameters. Scores at the extremes of the scale represent basically peak contributions of either EI or HFI. However, in order to develop a comprehensive integrated valuation of ecosystem services in the Catalan coast, this gap is recommended to be filled.
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Figure 4.4.10. Distribution of the Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index of the Catalan coast. Scale represents positive-higher (10) and negative-lower (-4) provisioning capacity of ecosystems. Urban areas were not assessed.
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All land covers had positive mean values (Figure 4.4.11), with an average capacity of 2.50 (σ = 1.50). This represents that ecosystems in the Catalan coast maintains a positive capacity to deliver services to citizens. Highest score was obtained in barren areas (6.26) which constitute coastal cliffs and rocky mountainous areas. However, it was not included in the integrated valuation since no stated-preference value of its ecosystem services was available. Larger average provisioning capacities greater than four were found in beaches and dunes (4.23), temperate forest (4.16) and open freshwater (4.07); while the minimum values were associated to freshwater wetlands (1.15), urban greenspaces (0.70) and riparian buffers (0.38).
5
4
3
2
1
0 Beach or dune
Saltwater wetland
Temperate forest
Grassland
Cropland
Freshwater wetland
Open freshwater
Riparian buffer
Urban greenspace
Figure 4.4.11. Average Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index by land cover of the Catalan coast.
Although highly human-influenced by humans beaches constitute the land cover with highest provisioning capacity (max. = 7, min. = -4, σ = 1), due to the combination of the highest ecological value (6.1) and relative low fragility (see Figure 4.4.8). Due to the interface nature of the shoreline in the coastal zone, the resulting high provisioning capacity of beaches and dunes becomes relevant in maintaining vital services that support humans in this area (i.e. living and transportation infrastructure, recreational activities, among others). Opposite, low ESPCI scores from saltwater (2.50) and freshwater wetlands (1.15) are the result of high fragility which increments the effect of human footprint, especially in the large wetlands of the Baix Ebre and Montsià comarcas. Less evident constitute the low average score of riparian buffer that might be the effect of miss representation of its ecological value in the habitat’s database (see Figure 4.4.3). Similarly to sub-indexes that integrate the ESPCI, this geography of capacity to provide ecosystem services represents that of natural processes and patterns in the Catalan coast. Therefore, an analysis of such functioning patterns lead to the understanding of the ability to provide services by ecosystems (de Groot 2006). Given what we know about ecosystem structure and functioning, we expect that where supply capacity is highest ecosystem services value will be higher than estimated using stated human preferences. Consequently, where supply capacity scores are lower we expect flow value will be lower due to reduced natural infrastructure to support essential ecological processes. The exact consequences of the three studied components on the capacity to provide services by a given ecosystem cannot be determined at this geographical scale and will depend on local measurements of productivity, efficiency and resilience
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properties (Costanza et al. 2006). If this is the case EI, HII and thus HFI can be constructed using specific local ecological properties and human pressures at larger cartographic scales (i.e. 1:5,000 to 1:25,000), if available. Moreover, ecosystem health proxies such as structure (organization) and resilience can be incorporated into the ecological index as they relate to ecosystem functioning, and land transformation dynamic models (i.e. Costanza et al. 2002) to identify threats and how they influence in ecosystem services provisioning capacity. It has been argued that conserving biodiversity is necessary for maintaining ecosystem functioning (see Section 3.2.2). Literature reflects that there is substantial evidence that diversity is able to affect function in the ecological network of interrelations, particularly for plant communities due to their role as carries of ecological functions in the ecosystem (e.g. Loreau et al. 2002, Srivastava and Vellend 2005). Therefore, it can be also interpreted that biodiversity acts against underprovision of ecosystem services (see Figure 4.4.11; i.e. control of water run-off by forest and wetlands, control of pests and diseases by biodiversity, protection of storm effects by shoreline in the Catalan coast). Consequently it can be said that biodiversity has an insurance value, which represents an additional component to those values used here, i.e. non-use. This insurance value should be taken into account when deciding upon how much to invest into biodiversity conservation (Baumgartner in press). Additionally, Chan et al. (2006) proposed that conservation strategies should also reflect the understanding of spatial and temporal relevance of physical landscapes. Therefore beaches and dunes would be highly valuable due to their unique supportive and regulating services that make life possible along the coastline. Natural processes representation through ESPCI provides a unique opportunity to guide conservation efforts in the Catalan coast. Newest version of the Plan of the Spaces of Natural Interest in Catalonia (PEIN) integrates the most representative natural areas in Catalonia (DMAH 2006a). Natural areas have been included in the PEIN based on their regional biodiversity and landscape relevance; as well larger national parks (e.g. Ebro River delta). Moreover, areas included in the PEIN constitute a network of conservation elements that complement a regional strategy along Catalonia, which are managed individually (i.e. management plans) and as a whole (e.g. indicator system developed by Germain and Mallarach 2004). PEIN network ecosystem services provisioning capacity was investigated in order to determine network’s contribution to maintain functional landscapes in the coast. Fifty two PEIN areas are included totally or partially in the study area. Protected area inside coastal comarcas represents 23.4 % (171,293 ha). These areas have an average ecological value of 5.7, an average human footprint of 37 and an average fragility of 2 (see Annex XIV for individual area estimates). Results show that with an average 3.7 ESPCI PEIN areas contribute to a 25.8 % of total preference-based ESV flow in the study area (estimated in Section 4.3). However, if compared to integrated ESV flow its contribution represents 37.5 % of total terrestrial value. Therefore, PEIN network constitutes a relevant ecosystem conservation mechanism which is responsible for more than one fourth of total services valued by citizens. In the other hand, 62.5 % of value is provided by unprotected areas that correspond to 66.7 % of coastal comarcas (not including urban areas). Figure 4.4.12 shows the distribution of PEIN areas and its average ESPCI. Among the 52 areas only the Gaià River mouth area accounted for a negative provision capacity. Gaià River mouth area is located near Tarragona and between two large urban areas which leaded to the largest HFI score. Spatial pattern shows that although areas near coastline account for relevant provision capacity, those with larger capacity tend to be in the hinterland of the coastal zone. Heal et al. (2001) proposed that the identification and establishment of ecosystem services districts will improve significantly the efficiency of provision 113
necessary for human well-being. Thereafter, due to their present conservation status PEIN areas constitute seed sites in the development of such districts, whose role in the provision of services should be taken seriously into account in future coastal sustainability strategies and plans.
Figure 4.4.12. Average ecosystem services provision capacity by PEIN area in the Catalan coast.
Complementarily to PEIN areas the less influenced areas along the coastal zone were analyzed. It follows that from mapping the human footprint that it is also possible to map the least influenced areas in each land cover. There are many ways of using the human influence and/or human footprint to define areas of interest for conservation depending on specific conservation goals (see Sanderson et al. 2002 for a more detailed description on assessing the last of the wild areas for conservation purposes). In present study, wildest areas were described as the 10 % least influenced areas, i.e. 10 % cutoff on the HII. Although an arbitrary threshold, these relative intact and undisturbed ecosystems were considered of particularly important for conserving biodiversity in the Catalan coast. Results show that the last of the wild add an additional 8 % (73,947 ha) surface to that of PEIN areas (map in Annex XV shows the 10 % last of the wild distribution). If those areas were conserved then these resulting ecosystem services districts will improve significantly the efficiency of provision necessary for human well-being (Heal et al. 2001). The map in Figure 4.4.13 shows the average ecosystem services’ provisioning capacity by comarca of the Catalan coast. The distribution of estimated ESPCI, in general, follows that of HEMU along the coastal zone. Alt Empordà and Baix Ebre accounted for higher provisioning capacities; while as expected Barcelonès obtained the lowest score. Major differences were found in Garraf and Montsià. Garraf constitutes the second smallest comarca, 20.7 % of its territory constitutes urban area and accounts for 5.3 % of the total ESV flow in the coastal zone. However, just 21.3 % of such value is 114
provided by terrestrial ecosystems, which represents the second lowest ESV flow along the coast. Thereafter, a combination of low ESV flow, average EI of 3.5, average human footprint of 48 and low fragility of resulted in a low provisioning capacity. For consistency purposes, map was created using the same method and number of classes that the HEMU map (see Section 4.2). Thereafter, the map can vary depending on the specified number of classes and thus ESPCI at land cover level constitutes the relevant information for management and decision-making processes.
Figure 4.4.13. Distribution of average ecosystem services’ provision capacity by comarca of the Catalan coast. Letters indicate HEMU class.
4.4.8 Integrated valuation of ecosystem services An integrated ecosystem services valuation approach based on the ESPCI was conducted for the Catalan coast. By being based on the ESPCI, integrated valuation incorporates objective ecological properties and human influences in ecosystems across the coastal zone. Therefore, the effect of human induced bias stated on preferences should be reduced and thus provide a more accurate estimate of value. The new estimate constitutes the linear aggregation of each habitat’s subjective preference-based value obtained in previous Section 4.3 and its objective capacity to provide services. This method combines three major aspects on which ecosystem functioning depends on (EI, HFI and FI) and constitutes a way to standardize ecosystem services valuation processes. It provides the advantage of translating the three dimensions that affect value into a direct measurement of services flow supply. The assessment of integrated value followed a direct aggregation method which recalculates value in a linear way. Positive ESPCI scores increment habitat value linearly up to 100 % (double) and negative scores up to a residual value which prevent 115
from overestimating totally influenced habitats to have a larger value than a less influenced. More complex relationships than those proposed here and empirical studies could be used in the future to define limits to value in a more precise way, e.g. using weights to individual indicators or indexes or developing decision rules for local conditions based on resource supply and demand or its absolute scarcity. Therefore, integrated values were truncated to their double in order to set a limit and do not produce unreal and unviable ESV estimates. These results constitutes a first initiative on ecosystem services valuation of the Catalan coast and therefore future developments could integrate new and better components into this research area. The integrated ESV of studied land covers correspond to a flow of 3.37 billions USD/yr in the Catalan coast. However, this should be considered as a conservative estimate of the entire Catalan coast value since the contribution of the continental shelf and seagrass beds have not been included. New estimate represents an absolute 42.3 % increment to that of nine out of 11 land covers calculated in Section 4.3. Thereafter, new estimate reflects SES characteristics in a more systemic view and not only based on human preferences. As an example, if the average ESPCI could be applied to shelf and seagrasses the resulting estimate would constitute an overall 70 % increment in flow. Results show that integrated value represents 2.9 % of the total GDP and 4.5 % of available family income of the studied area. Although new contributions obtained do not seem to have a considerable absolute increment (compared those obtained directly from individual preferences), the study concludes that any increment in income will represent a significant improvement in human well-being on the coastal zone. While most contribution to natural value is provided by terrestrial land covers (80.5 %), coastal land covers (beach, dune and saltwater wetland) contribute to a significant 18.5 % to total ESV flow. This is especially relevant by looking to the 18 % contribution by beaches and dunes to total value. Figure 4.4.14 shows change percentages in flow of each of the studies land covers’ integrated ecosystem services value. All land covers accounted for value increments. In consequence to original ESV and its provision capacity, forest, beach and dune, open freshwater and saltwater wetlands accounted for the largest ESV flows. From Figure 4.4.14 can be also interpreted that the spatial dimension of economic value resulted highly important as one look at land cover in the context of ecosystem services.
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60
50
40
30
20
10
0 Beach & dune
Saltwater wetland
Temperate forest
Grassland
Cropland
Freshwater wetland
Open freshwater
Riparian buffer
Urban greenspace
Figure 4.4.14. Change in flow of ecosystem services value as a function of ecosystem services’ provision capacity by land cover of the Catalan coast. Change expressed as percentage of preference-based flow of ESV.
4.4.9 Conclusions An integrated valuation of the non-market ecosystem services was conducted in order to incorporate ecosystem-based management goals into future ICZM plans. The integrated valuation challenged current methodologies and called for the integration of ecological properties in economic valuations. Thereafter, methodology incorporated ecological as well as socio-economic predictors of the capacity of ecosystems to provide services on which human well-being depends on. The resulting geography of capacity to provide ecosystem services represents a proxy of natural structure and processes of the Catalan coast. Therefore, the analysis of such functioning patterns leaded to the understanding of the ability to provide services by ecosystems. The resulting ESPCI constituted a range of provision abilities that increased or decreased the stated-preference value estimated in Section 4.3 and constituted the integrated valuation. The highest provisioning capacity areas were associated to the hinterland of the study area. The lowest values were found in large urban areas as Barcelona and Tarragona, and in the shoreline where large human influences are present. The Catalan coast maintains a positive capacity to provide services and larger average provisioning capacities were found in beaches and dunes, temperate forest and open freshwater land covers. Due to the interface nature of the shoreline in the coastal zone, the resulting high provisioning capacity of beaches and dunes becomes highly relevant in maintaining vital services that support humans in this area. The relevance of physical landscape features should be also integrated into the costs and benefits in conservation efforts, i.e. beaches and dunes are highly valuable due to their supportive and regulating services. Moreover, PEIN protected areas network constitute a relevant ecosystem conservation mechanism which is at present responsible for more than one fourth of total services valued by citizens. Therefore, PEIN network constitutes an efficient site selection from the ecosystem services perspective even it wasn’t its primary goal.
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Results found are in concordance with the HEMU regionalisation developed in Section 4.2. Therefore, we conclude that HEMU regionalisation reflects ESV flow in an adequate manner. Alt Empordà and Baix Ebre accounted for higher provisioning capacities; while as expected Barcelonès obtained the lowest score. Major differences were found in Garraf due to a combination of low ESV, EI, HFI and fragility that resulted in a low capacity to provide ecosystem services. It is recommended that ESPCI at land cover level (habitat polygons) constitutes the more relevant information for managers. The nine land covers assessed resulted in an integrated ESV flow of 3.37 billions USD/yr in the Catalan coast. This estimate was considered as a conservative estimate since any the continental shelf and seagrass beds have not been included due to lack of reliable data. The integrated ESV flow represents a 42.3 % increment to stated-preference value used in Section 4.3, as well as a 2.9 % of GDP and 4.5 % of the income of the Catalan coast. All land covers studied but freshwater wetlands accounted for value increments. Similarly, forest, beach and dune, open freshwater and saltwater wetlands accounted for the largest ESV flows. It was also interpreted that the spatial dimension of economic value resulted highly important as one look at land cover in the context of ecosystem services. We can’t ignore that individual perceptions are the basis for any discussion on value (Costanza 2000). However, economic valuations should not be a function of solely land cover and individual preferences but also the underlying functioning and pressures on ecosystem. Therefore, we envision the role of ecologists at identifying objective criteria for the optimization of integrated valuation assessments. This will reduce humaninduced bias (via stated-preferences) and thus provide a more accurate estimate of ESV flow in the future. However, here proposed method, by combining two major aspects on which ecosystem functioning depends (EI and HFI) constitutes a way to standardize ecosystem services valuation processes across different spatial sites. This study proposes a methodology that assumes that the more efficient is an ecosystem in providing a service (more natural and less influenced), the more valuable the ecosystem will be to the society. From this standpoint, the value of a flow of ecosystem services cannot be viewed as independent of the efficient functioning of the system. In consequence, results present a clear understanding why the same ecosystem services provided by the same land cover vary substantially in its economic value. Real prices of ecosystem services in the Catalan coast would be almost certainly greater than estimated in this work. This is due to the lack of marine and several other ecosystem services value at present. However, if one were to try to replace currently studied services, at least an annual increment in GDP of 2.9 % should take place and will most likely to economic wealth deterioration (plus the contribution by the continental shelf and seagrass beds). The study suggests the need for future research relevant for additional developments on integrated valuation of ecosystem services: •
Improve the availability and quality of ecological properties and human influence over ecosystems in empirical peer-reviewed literature.
•
Identify other measurable ecological processes that can be correlated to ecosystem services provisioning.
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•
Map more complex linkages among ecosystem functioning and the services it provides.
•
Conduct empirical assessments in order to identify thresholds and weights for individual indicators.
•
Establish theoretical baseline for modeling the relationship to ecosystem services provision.
•
Develop decision rules for local conditions based on resource supply and demand and the effect absolute scarcity of ecosystem services.
•
Determine the effect of ESPCI in sustaining human well-being efficiently.
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Chapter 5 Conclusions
This study constitutes a contribution to the analysis of non-market natural capital in the Catalan coastal zone from an efficient allocation perspective. It provides a set of three methodologies which contribute to estimating the ecosystem services value that should be considered relevant in coastal and environmental management. First, it proposes a method to identify the social-ecological spatial heterogeneity of the coast, which leaded to the identification of homogeneous management units on which valuation was carried out. Secondly, a benefit transfer spatial function was used in order to estimate the annual contribution of ecosystem services value to citizens’ wellbeing. Furthermore, it was assumed that the more efficient is an ecosystem in providing a service, the more valuable will be to the society, and thus valuable ecological and human influence predictors were incorporated in an integrated value assessment of the economic benefits provided by the Catalan coast natural environment. By estimating the economic value of ecosystem services not traded in the marketplace, social costs or benefits that otherwise would remain hidden or unappreciated are revealed. Therefore, this work can be useful in evaluating tradeoffs between economic development and conservation in the coastal zone. The study area (coastal zone) in present work was defined integrating SocialEcological System (SES) processes at the comarca level. Therefore, biophysical, socio-economic and administrative dimensions were integrated in a single model which can be useful in integrated coastal management. The 12 littoral comarcas and their marine water extent to a depth of 50 m constituted the operational definition of the Catalan coast. A function-based approach to ecosystems was used to help identify the relevant dependences of ecosystem services provision. This approach provided qualitative and quantitative analysis capabilities of elements, processes and services which are responsible for human well-being. Thirty ecosystem services providing regulation, habitat, production, information and carrier functions were identified to be present in the Catalan coast. The approach provided a way to translate the ecological complexity into a structure useful in natural resource management. Natural capital valuation was proposed as a relevant methodology to be of further use in Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) processes in Catalonia. Thereafter, three analytical methods were developed to valuate non-market ecosystem services’ annual flow. A survey was conducted among coastal managers and technicians to determine the desirable characteristics of an environmental valuation system of the Catalan coast. Preferences determined the necessity to ecologically and economically value the coast due to constant environmentally degradation and the lack of such input to develop sustainable strategies and plans. The regionalisation process performed to the Catalan coast was based on the 12 littoral comarcas. The regionalisation process was based on socio-economic and ecological sub-indicators. Four different classes of Homogeneous Environmental Management Units (HEMU) were obtained, ranging form highly natural and less developed comarcas to less natural and highly developed comarcas. HEMU-based regionalisation of the coast provided a biophysical and socio-economic coherent management structure to conduct valuation of ecosystem services. Furthermore, it is
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expected to constitute a useful social-ecological structure in the future implementation of a ICZM Plan. A value transfer approach of non-market services provided by terrestrial and marine domains of the coast was conducted based on more than 90 peer-reviewed studies. Based on Individual preferences, results indicated that an Ecosystem Services Value (ESV) of at least 3.2 billion USD was delivered to citizens in 2004 (2,572 x 106 Euros). The study therefore, makes clear that non-market ecosystem services provide an important contribution to human well-being in the coast. ESV flow is the functional result from a diverse matrix of land cover types that are present in the coastal zone. It was found that ecosystem services when provided by different land cover types vary substantially in its economic value, and this study reflects such variability. The availability of a larger number of studies measuring ESV and spatial land cover digital data has improved the specificity and reliability of present study. Beaches and dunes were found to provide the largest ESV on per hectare basis and disturbance regulation constituted the most valued ecosystem service. Coastal (beach, dune and saltwater wetland) and marine (shelf and seagrass) land covers provided more than 40 % of the total flow value, but they account for 22 % of valuated surface only. Single largest contribution to ESV flow was provided by forest while larger coastal-marine contribution was provided by the continental shelf. Results were found consistent with the HEMU geography and the Catalan coastal zone accounted for 3,463 USD/ha·yr in average. The Montsià had the largest absolute flow ESV, followed by the Alt Empordà and the Baix Ebre, while the Barcelonès had the lowest contribution among comarcas. Although ecosystem services are not tradable or excludable due to their public nature, results suggest that an amount equivalent to 4.3 % of annual income should be added to total economic wealth of the coastal citizens. Similarly, if one were to try to replace the current ecosystem services, at least an annual increment of 2.7 % in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should take place in the study area (since the evaluated services are not captured in GDP). However, one should take into account that many ecosystem services are irreplaceable. An integrated ecological and economic valuation of the non-market ecosystem services flow was conducted in order to account for the value of natural capital in future ICZM plans. Together, ecological, human footprint and fragility indexes resulted useful in the construction of the Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index (ESPCI). This composite indicator constitutes a production-type proxy of the capacity of ecosystems to deliver services to citizens. Each indicator was integrated by one or several subindicators that were considered relevant in previous studies and to the Catalan coast. The methodology proposed is general enough to be implemented at other coastal zones; and sub-indicator selection could vary depending on specific realities and needs of other geographical contexts. The resulting geography of the capacity to provide ecosystem services represents a proxy of natural structure and processes in the Catalan coast. Therefore, the analysis of such functioning patterns leaded to the estimation of and integrated ESV delivered annually in this area. The Catalan coast accounted for a positive capacity to provide services. Although larger average provisioning capacities were found in beaches, dunes, temperate forest and open freshwater, spatial distribution of ESPCI showed that larger areas with higher provisioning capacity were found in the hinterland of the coastal zone. Due to the interface nature of the shoreline in the coastal zone, the resulting high provisioning capacity of beaches and dunes becomes highly relevant in maintaining vital services that support humans in this area. Similarly to preference-based ESV, the distribution of average ESPCI by comarca followed that of HEMU with minor differences. The Alt 122
Empordà and the Baix Ebre accounted for higher provisioning capacities; while as expected the Barcelonès obtained the lowest score. Results suggest that the ESPCI at land cover level constitutes the most relevant information for managers to be taken into account in future valuation functions. Although it was not possible to include the marine portion of the study area in this analysis due to data heterogeneity and availability, an integrated ESV flow of 3.37 billion USD/yr (2,712 x 106 Euros) was estimated in the Catalan coast. Integrated ESV flow, even though a conservative estimate represents more than a 42 % increment to that of terrestrial stated-preference value (see Section 4.3). This new estimate should be considered a more realistic approximation to ecosystem services value in the Catalan coast, since it combines two major aspects on which ecosystem functioning depends. Furthermore, the proposed method constitutes a way to standardize ecosystem services valuation processes across different spatial sites. Present Natural Interest Spaces Plan (PEIN) network of protected areas was found to constitute a relevant ecosystem conservation mechanism which is responsible for the maintenance of at least one fourth of total services valued by citizens. The relevance of physical landscape features should be also integrated into the costs and benefits in conservation efforts, e.g. beaches and dunes are highly valuable due to their supportive and regulating services. Moreover, since it is based on a dynamic geographic information system, present valuation system can be useful in alerting managers of ecosystem services threats. Areas with negative provision capacity could be identified and analyzed in more detail while outweighing benefits or on project appraisal. This work has identified areas which should be considered as seed for the provision of ecosystem services; and whose performance need to be monitored using an approach like the one is proposed here. In the future, new areas can be identified for the specific purpose of conserving ecosystem services using these or similar criteria. Both valuation processes kept close spatial relationship to that of HEMU geography. This was the result of the specific development patterns in the Catalan coast. As found, highly developed comarcas account also for lower ecological value and higher levels of human influence and vice versa, and such pattern prevailed in all results. Differences arose only at those comarcas with intermediate levels of economic wealth, ecological value and human activities. Most relevant and atypical patterns were discussed along the study and explained in terms of their variance contribution to value. Furthermore, regionalisation was found essential to understanding major social-ecological process driving coastal ESV, thus HEMU are proposed as a relevant complement to other regional and local valuation studies. One cannot ignore that individual perceptions are the basis for any discussion on value. However, economic valuations of natural capital should not be a function of solely land cover and individual preferences but also the underlying functioning and pressures on ecosystem. Therefore, proposed integrated valuation method was considered to reduce human induced bias (via stated-preferences) and thus provide a more accurate estimate of ESV flow. By estimating the ESV flow of the coastal zone, the study provides coastal scientists and managers with relevant information for decision-making processes. It also reflects that if we hypothetically had to pay for ecosystem services, the price would be much different from what it is today, since it would be almost certainly greater. The study proposes that if these results are included in future project appraisals, past errors in projects due to undervaluation would be minimized due to nature and socio-economic benefit outweighing. Given the uncertainties involved in the value transfer approach conducted, a precise estimate of the total ESV may be difficult to achieve. Uncertainties found indicate that 123
estimate represents a minimum value which would increase much likely, if (i) additional effort is paid to integrate a broader range of ecosystem services value, (ii) more realistic representations of ecosystem dynamics are incorporated, and (iii) ecosystem services become scarcer in the future. Developed methods are expected to provide coastal managers with relevant information for conservation and development purposes. These results intent to better inform coastal managers and technicians, and to provide new insight on the ecological economic dimension of natural resources. Therefore, it is expected that if such methods were implemented, significant advances towards coastal sustainability could be achieved. If an ICZM strategy were to be implemented in the Catalan coast, it should be consistent with an Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) (UN 2002). This work could be helpful in guiding such process by answering some management relevant questions. Examples of management questions and how these results can help to answer them are: A) Is it necessary to include the natural component in coastal zone planning and management? •
This study has demonstrated the non-market value flow of the natural environment.
B) How should be included? •
This study presented a methodology relevant in an EBM approach in which value is assigned to the services provided by ecosystems.
C) What should be included? •
What are the ecosystem functions that the complex coastal components and structure perform?
•
What are the ecosystem goods and services that are provided to citizens in the coastal zone?
D) What is the complementarily value of natural capital in the coastal zone not integrated into existing economic indexes/accounting? •
What is to-date the available information on ESV to conduct valuations in the Catalan coast?
•
What is the contribution of existing land covers (and habitats) and ecosystem services to ESV in the Catalan coast?
•
What is the ESV flow contribution to total natural capital of the Catalan coast? and How is spatially distributed along the coast?
•
What is the contribution of ESV flow in terms of GDP and income?
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E) What is the capacity to provide such services by the coastal zone? •
What are the ecological non-use value, fragility, human influence and human footprint in the coastal zone?
•
What is the capacity to provide ESV of the coastal zone, as a function of land covers?
•
What are the implications of provisioning capacity in the estimation of an integrated social-ecological ESV flow?
•
What is the ecosystem services provision capacity conserved through the protected areas network (i.e. PEIN) in the coast?
F) What are the management-relevant sub-regions into which the Catalan coast can be divided? •
What are the relevant homogeneous environmental spatial units on which strategies and policies can be applied and what are the social-ecological differences among them?
•
How do comarcas contribute to the total ESV flow and each of the used variables?
Moreover, this study expects to provide complementary information to that to other regional or local initiatives. Relevant examples in the Catalan coast are DEDUCE Project (DMAH 2005b), which will provide an estimate of coastal zone performance towards sustainability; and MEVAPLAYA Project (http://lim050.upc.es/mevaplaya/), which has been developing an environmental state indicator of beaches and related recreational infrastructure along the coast. Therefore, here proposed methods together with other ICZM products will provide in the near future the necessary instruments to improve coastal performance towards a desirable and sustainable future. Several challenges have been identified in order to improve present methods and results, as well as future developments. Envisioned challenges for ESV are: •
Improve the availability and quality of ecological properties and human influence over ecosystems in empirical peer-reviewed literature, specially in the marine domain.
•
Improve the availability and quality of ESV data in empirical peer-reviewed literature, especially in the marine domain.
•
Map complex linkages among ecosystem functioning and the services they provide, which can be correlated to provision capacity.
•
Improve quality of land cover typology for the coastal zone to test the biophysical similarity of the policy site and the study site.
•
Increase the consistency in the use of ecosystem service terminology to communicate better the value of ecosystem services.
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•
Develop socio-economic functions for function-based value transfer assessments, e.g. use alternative indicators as the Genuine Progress Indicator (see Cobb 1995).
•
Conduct sensibility analysis to determine provision capacity equation’s subindicator’s contribution (i.e. weights).
Since present study constitutes the first approach to ESV on the Catalan coast, results should be considered an initial baseline for the valuation of ecosystem services. However, several scientific opportunities for further development have been identified from present experience. Major areas are shown in the order that the author will address them: •
Identify relevant management criteria to develop scenarios of provision capacity of the Catalan coast.
•
Integrate ecological and economic scarcity concepts into valuation approach
•
Identify ecosystem services priority areas, based in efficiency and resilience properties, and integrate a conservation portfolio of the Catalan coast (e.g. use Spatial Portfolio Optimization Tool (SPOT; http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/spot/base_view).
•
Develop a payment strategy for ecosystem services capable of integrating ESV into markets.
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Chapter 6 References
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Annex I. Internet pages relevant to natural resource management and sustainability of the Catalan coast. Territory, management and legal information: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Generalitat de Catalunya (GenCat): http://www.gencat.net/ Territorial Policy and Public Works Department (DPTOP)-GenCat: http://www.gencat.net/ptop/ Environment and Housing Department (DMAH)-GenCat: http://mediambient.gencat.net/cat/inici.jsp Territorial, sectorial and directive plans-GenCat: http://www10.gencat.net/ptop/AppJava/es/plans/ Cartographic Institute (ICC)-GenCat: http://www.icc.es/ Spatial Data Infrastructure (IDEC)-GenCat: http://www.geoportal-idec.net/geoportal/ Integrated coastal zone management strategy-GenCat: http://mediambient.gencat.net/cat/el_medi/egizc/inici.jsp Barcelona Metropolitan Area Coastal Strategic Plan: http://www.plalitoral.net/ Sustainable Development Council (CADS)-GenCat: http://www.cat-sostenible.org/ Agenda 21-GenCat: http://www6.gencat.net/a21cat/home_esp.htm Mevaplaya Project: http://lim050.upc.es/mevaplaya/ DEDUCE-Interreg IIIC Project: http://www.gencat.net/mediamb/sosten/deduce/deduce.htm EUCC Mediterranean Center (The Coastal Union): http://www.eucc.nl/en/eucc/index.htm El Far Consortium: http://www.elfar.diba.es/ Barcelona Province Beach Database-DIBA: http://www.diba.cat/platges/default.asp Barcelona Province “Espai Blau” CZM Project-DIBA: http://www.diba.es/espaiblau/indice.html Spanish State Ports: http://www.puertos.es/index.jsp Spanish Environmental Ministry: http://www.mma.es Ports of the Generalitat-GenCat: http://www.portsgeneralitat.org/
Environment and sustainable development: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Water Agency (ACA)-GenCat: http://mediambient.gencat.net/aca/ca/inici.jsp Meteorological Service (METEOCAT)-GenCat: http://www.meteocat.com/ Oceanographic and Meteorological Instruments Network (XIOM)-GenCat: http://lim050.upc.es/projects/xiom/ Internacional Centre for Coastal Resources Research (CIIRC)-UPC: http://limciirc.upc.es/ European Topic Centre on Terrestrial Environment, EEA-EU: http://terrestrial.eionet.europa.eu/ Eurosion Project-EU: http://www.eurosion.org/ FloodSite Project-EU: http://www.floodsite.net/ Blue Flag Programme: http://www.blueflag.org/ Natural Heritage Defense (Depana): http://www.depana.org/ Biodiversity Database (BIOCAT), UB-DMAH: http://biodiver.bio.ub.es/biocat/homepage.html World Wildlife Fund–Adena: http://www.wwf.es/ Debate Costa Brava: http://www.debatcostabrava.org/ Integrated Coastal Zone Management-EU: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/iczm/home.htm Europe Environmental Agency (EEA)-EU: http://www.eea.europa.eu/ Plan Bleu: Regional and Activity Centre: http://www.planbleu.org/
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Economic data & statistics: • • • • Notes: •
•
Catalan Statistics Institute (IDESCAT)-GenCat: http://www.idescat.net/ Turistic Information-GenCat: http://www.gencat.net/turistex_nou/home.htm Spanish Statistics Institute (INE): http://www.ine.es/ Eurostat-EU: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/ All links were operational at the day of publication of this document. Please send corrections and additional relevant links to:
[email protected].
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Annex II. Non-market economic valuation techniques. Method
Description Cost-based approaches Services allow society to avoid costs that would have been incurred in the absence of those services Services could be replaced with man-made systems Services provide for the enhancement of incomes
Avoided cost Replacement coast Factor income
Revealed-preferences approaches Travel cost Hedonic prices Marginal product estimation
Service demand may require travel, whose cost can reflect the implied value of the service. Includes the willing to pay to travel and value of their time Service demand may be reflected in the prices people will pay for associated goods Service demand is generated in a dynamic modeling environment using a production function (i.e. CobbDouglas) to estimate the change in the value of outputs in response to a change in material inputs
Stated-preferences approaches Contingent valuation Group valuation
Service demand may be elicited by posing hypothetical scenarios that involve some valuation of alternatives Based on participatory processes and assuming that public decision-making should result, not from aggregation of separately measured individual preferences but from open public debate
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Annex III. Assessed ecosystem services of the Catalan coast. The ecosystem services that are evaluated in this study are listed below (the description has been aggregated into the following 12 services): •
Atmospheric gas & climate regulation: life on earth exists within a narrow band of chemical balance in the atmosphere and oceans, and alterations in that balance can have positive or negative impacts on natural and economic processes. Biotic and abiotic processes and components of natural and semi-natural ecosystems influence this chemical balance in many ways including the CO2/O2 balance, maintenance of the ozone-layer (O3), and regulation of SOX levels.
•
Disturbance regulation: many landscapes provide a buffering function that protects humans from destructive perturbations. For example, beaches, wetlands and floodplains help mitigate the effects of storms and floods by trapping and containing storm water. Coastal island vegetation, beaches and seagrass communities can also reduce the damage of wave action and storm surges.
•
Freshwater regulation & supply: the availability of fresh and clean water is essential to life, and is one of humanity’s most valuable natural assets. When water supplies fail, water must be imported from elsewhere at great expense, must be more extensively treated (as in the case of low stream flows or well levels), or must be produced using more expensive means (such as desalinization). Forests and their underlying soil, and wetlands, play an important role in ensuring that rainwater is stored and released gradually, rather than allowed to immediately flow downstream as runoff.
•
Erosion control & soil formation: soils provide many of the services mentioned above, including water storage and filtering, waste assimilation, and a medium for plant growth. Natural systems, terrestrial and seagrasses both create and enrich soil through weathering and decomposition and retain soil by preventing its being washed away during rainstorms.
•
Nutrient regulation/cycling: the proper functioning of any ecosystem is dependent on the ability of plants/algae and animals to utilize nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and sulphur. For example, soil and water, with the assistance of certain bacteria algae (Cyanobacteria), take nitrogen in the atmosphere and fix it so that it can be readily absorbed by the roots of plants. When plants die or are consumed by animals, nitrogen is recycled into the atmosphere. Farmers apply tons of commercial fertilizers to croplands each year, in part because this natural cycle has been disrupted by hyper-intense cultivation.
•
Waste treatment: forests, wetlands and coastal waters, specially seagrass communities, provide a natural buffer between human activities and water supplies, filtering out pathogens such as Giardia or Escherichia, nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous, and metals and sediments. This service benefits both humans by providing cleaner drinking water and plants and animals by reducing harmful algae blooms, increasing dissolved oxygen and reducing excessive sediment in water. Trees also improve air quality by filtering out particulates and toxic compounds from air, making it more breathable and healthy.
•
Pollination: more than 87 % of the world’s flowering plants, including 80 % of the world’s species of food plants, rely on pollinator species for reproduction. Over
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100,000 invertebrate species such as bees, moths, butterflies, beetles, and flies serve as pollinators worldwide. At least 1,035 species of vertebrates, including birds, mammals, and reptiles, also pollinate many plant species. The US Fish and Wildlife Service lists over 50 pollinators as threatened or endangered, and wild honeybee populations have dropped 25 % since 1990. Pollination is essential for many agricultural crops, and substitutes for local pollinators are increasingly expensive. •
Biological control: natural species populations are regulated by complex trophic dynamics. Those dynamics can be easily altered by the absence of keystone specie. Over harvesting or over fishing promote not only the depletion of population stocks but from other species by by-catch. In a natural ecosystem top predators will regulate prey species and prevent from over consumption of other species, such as herbivory reduction.
•
Habitat/refugium: contiguous patches of landscape with sufficient area to hold naturally functioning ecosystems support a diversity of plant and animal life. As patch size decreases, and as patches of habitat become more isolated from each other, population sizes can decrease below the thresholds needed to maintain genetic variation, withstand stochastic events (such as storms or droughts) and population oscillations, and meet social requirements like breeding and migration. Large contiguous habitat blocks, such as intact seagrass beds, forests or wetlands, thus function as critical population sources for plant and animal species that humans value for both aesthetic value and functional reasons.
•
Genetic resources: Biotic resources are sources of unique biological materials and products. Due to our limited knowledge it is not possible to account for all products that biodiversity could provide to human societies in the future. Know products are medicines, other science materials, genes for resistance of plant pathogens and crop pests and ornamental species. However, it is very likely that genetic resources constitute the most unknown services that ecosystems provide to human well-being.
•
Aesthetic & recreation: intact natural ecosystems that attract people who fish, hunt, hike, canoe or kayak, bring direct economic benefits to the areas surrounding those natural areas. People’s willingness to pay for local meals and lodging and to spend time and money on travel to these sites, are economic indicators of the value they place on natural areas. Real estate values, and therefore local tax revenues, often increase for houses located near protected open space. People are also often willing to pay to maintain or preserve the integrity of a natural site to protect the perceived beauty and quality of that site.
•
Cultural & spiritual: Landscapes are typically identified with spiritual and historic values. One of its most high expressions can be found in religions. Nature has been used as motive in books, film, painting, folklore, national symbols, architect, advertising, etc.
152
Annex IV. Land covers and sub-categories of the Catalan coast.
Land cover
sub-category
Area (ha)
Coastal- marine domain Continental shelf (≤ 50 m)
Continental platform up to 50 m isobaths.
Seagrass bed
Seagrass or marine phanerogams communities (mainly Posidonia oceanica, Zostera marina and Cymodocea nodosa.
8,568
Beach or dune
Sand beach, rocky beach and vegetated sand dune.
4,098
Vegetated dune with non nitrophil vegetation Dune with Pinus pinea, P. pinaster Sand beach with nitrophil vegetation Rocky beach with nitrophil vegetation Saltwater wetland
191,484
404 911 2,774 9
Marine or hypersaline water wetlands and lagoons.
2,494
Brackish or marine water wetland
1,464
Hypersaline wetland or lagoon Industrial marine water wetland or lagoon
39 991
Terrestrial domain Temperate forest
Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean forest and scrubs.
91,538
Other deciduous forest
14,018
Deciduous mix forest Other conifer forest Conifer mix forest
786 8 17,937
Planifolia mix forest Mediterranean scrubs
1,756 112,121
Mountainous scrubs
1,504
Pinus uncinata forest
95,027
Tree plantations
12,028
Humid and riverside forest Grassland
350,472
Oak forest
Prairies and rangelands.
3,751 37,010
Reforested areas i.e. open mines
122
Intensive rangelands
260
Communities dominated by Ampelodesmos mauritanica Abandoned croplands
5,174 19,934
Communities of Brachypodium phoenicoides with Euphorbia serrata
1,356
Prairies with Aphyllanthes monspeliensis
2,652
Prairies with Scirpus holoschoenus Dry prairies with Brachypodium retusum Prairies with Bromus erectus and Cirsium tuberosum Mesophil prairies with Festuca nigrescens
153
11 3,077 10 170
Mountainous prairies with Arrhenatherum elatius Lowland prairies with Gaudinia fragilis Prairies with Hyparrhenia hirta Mesophil prairies with Agrostis capillaris Xerophil prairies with Agrostis capillaris and Seseli montanum Sub-nitrophil prairies with Aegilops geniculata Mountainous prairies with Ononis striata Prairies not associated to urban or industrial areas Cropland
Dry and irrigation agricultural land.
354 3,301 161 78 239 7 102 246,416
Rice fields
23,697
Wild nut plantations
17,193
Critics plantations
10,038
Extensive and irrigation agricultural lands
18,058
Dry crop extensive fields
56,038
Vegetables and flowers
9,516
Intensive crops i.e. cereals
11,123
Dry land fruit and olive crops
74,201
Irrigation fruit crops Vineyards
7,607 18,945
Freshwater wetland
Seasonal freshwater wetlands or lagoons.
Open freshwater
Freshwater bodies and rivers. Industrial, recreational or agricultural ponds or channels
Riparian buffer
4
73 5,611 95
Lagoons and other water bodies
1,274
Rivers and stream flows
4,242
Corridors along river flows with submerged vegetation.
2,558
Riparian vegetation (i.e. cat tail)
2,250
Communities dominated by Cladium mariscus
308
Urban greenspace
Large urban parks and gardens.
Urban
Urban and industrial areas (impervious soil).
Barren
Barren lands: rocks, cliffs, emerged rocks or islands.
3,781
Burned forest
Wildfire impacted areas (on different dates and years).
2,778
Mining ground
Sand, rock and mineral exploitations.
2,681
Total
1,848 71,589
931,460
Source: DMAH. 2006. Cartografia 1:50.000 dels hàbitats de Catalunya (CHC50). Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge. Generalitat de Catalunya [online: http://mediambient.gencat.net/cat/el_medi/habitats/habitats_cartografia.htm#cd], revised on 23 May 2006.
154
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Christie, M., N. Hanley, J. Warren, K. Murphy, and R.E. Wright. 2004. A valuation of biodiversity in the UK using choice experiments and contingent valuation. Proceedings of Applied Environmental Economics Conference, The Royal Society, 26 March. Cordell, H.K., and J.C. Bergstrom. 1993. Comparison of recreation use values among alternative reservoir water level management scenarios. Water Resources Research 29: 247-258. Costanza, R., R. dArge, R. de Groot, S. Farber, M. Grasso, B. Hannon, K. Limburg, S. Naeem, R.V. Oneill, J. Paruelo, R.G. Raskin, P. Sutton, and M. van den Belt. 1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387: 253-260. Creel, M., and J. Loomis. 1992. Recreation value of water to wetlands in the SanJoaquin Valley - linked multinomial logit and count data trip frequency models. Water Resources Research 28: 2597-2606. Croke, K., R. Fabian, and G. Brenniman. 1986. Estimating the value of improved waterquality in an urban river system. Journal of Environmental Systems 16: 13-24. Danielson, L., T.J. Hoban, G. Vanhoutven, and J.C. Whitehead. 1995. Measuring the benefits of local public-goods - environmental-quality in Gaston County, NorthCarolina. Applied Economics 27: 1253-1260. Doss, C.R., and S.J. Taff. 1996. The influence of wetland type and wetland proximity on residential property values. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 21: 120-129. Duffield, J.W., C.J. Neher, and T.C. Brown. 1992. Recreation benefits of instream flow application to Montana Big Hole and Bitterroot Rivers. Water Resources Research 28: 2169-2181. Edwards, S.F., and F.J. Gable. 1991. Estimating the value of beach recreation from property values: an exploration with comparisons to nourishment costs. Ocean & Shoreline Management 15: 37-55. Fankhauser, S. 1994. The social costs of greenhouse-gas emissions - an expected value approach. Energy Journal 15: 157-184. Farber, S. 1988. The value of coastal wetlands for recreation - an application of travel cost and contingent valuation methodologies. Journal of Environmental Management 26: 299-312. Farber, S. 1987. The value of coastal wetlands for protection of property against hurricane wind damage. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 14: 143-151. Farber, S., and R. Costanza. 1987. The economic value of wetlands systems. Journal of Environmental Management 24: 41-51. Garrod, G.D., and K.G. Willis. 1997. The non-use benefits of enhancing forest biodiversity: a contingent ranking study. Ecological Economics 21: 45-61. Gramlich, F.W. 1977. The demand for clean water: the case of the Charles River. National Tax Journal 30: 22. Greenley, D., R.G. Walsh, and R.A. Young. 1981. Option value: empirical evidence from study of recreation and water quality. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 96: 657-673. Haener, M. K., and W.L. Adamowicz. 2000. Regional forest resource accounting: a Northern Alberta case study. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 30: 264-273.
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Hanley, N., D. Bell, and B. Alvarez-Farizo. 2003. Valuing the benefits of coastal water quality improvements using contingent and real behaviour. Environmental & Resource Economics 24: 273-285. Hayes, K.M., T.J. Tyrrell, and G. Anderson. 1992. Estimating the benefits of water quality improvements in the Upper Narragansett Bay. Marine Resource Economics 7: 75-85. Henry, R., R. Ley, and P. Welle. 1988. The economic value of water resources: the Lake Bemidji survey. Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science 53: 37-44. Hope, C., and P. Maul. 1996. Valuing the impact of CO2 emissions. Energy Policy 24: 211-219. Hougner, C. in press. Economic valuation of a seed dispersal service in the Stockholm National Urban Park, Sweden. Ecological Economics. Kahn, J.R., and R.B. Buerger. 1994. Valuation and the consequences of multiple sources of environmental deterioration - the case of the New-York striped bass fishery. Journal of Environmental Management 40: 257-273. Kealy, M.J., and R.C. Bishop. 1986. Theoretical and empirical specifications issues in travel cost demand studies. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 68: 660667. Kenyon, W., and C. Nevin. 2001. The use of economic and participatory approaches to assess forest development: a case study in the Ettrick Valley. Forest Policy and Economics 3: 69-80. Kline, J.D., and S.K. Swallow. 1998. The demand for local access to coastal recreation in southern New England. Coastal Management 26: 177-190. Kreutzwiser, R. 1981. The economic significance of the long point marsh, Lake Erie, as a recreational resource. Journal of Great Lakes Resources 7: 105-110. Kulshreshtha, S.N., and J.A. Gillies. 1993. Economic-evaluation of aesthetic amenities - a case-study of River View. Water Resources Bulletin 29: 257-266. Lant, C.L., and G. Tobin. 1989. The economic value of reparian corridors in cornbelt floodplains: a research framework. Professional Geographer 41: 337-349. Loomis, J.B. 1988. The bioeconomic effects of timber harvesting on recreational and commercial salmon and steelhead fishing: a case study of the Siuslaw National Forest. Marine Pollution Bulletin 5: 43-60. Lynne, G.D., P. Conroy, and F.J. Prochaska. 1981. Economic valuation of marsh areas for marine production processes. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 8: 175-186. Maddison, D. 1995. A cost-benefit-analysis of slowing climate-change. Energy Policy 23: 337-346. Mahan, B.L., S. Polasky, and R.M. Adams. 2000. Valuing urban wetlands: a property price approach. Land Economics 76: 100-113. Mathews, L.G., F.R. Homans, and K.W. Easter. 2002. Estimating the benefits of phosphorus pollution reductions: An application in the Minnesota River. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 38: 1217-1223. Maxwell, S. 1994. Valuation of rural environmental improvements using contingent valuation methodology: a case study of the Martson Vale community forest project. Journal of Environmental Management 41: 385-399.
157
McPherson, E.G. 1992. Accounting for benefits and costs of urban greenspace. Landscape and Urban Planning 22: 41-51. McPherson, E.G., K.I. Scott, and J.R. Simpson. 1998. Estimating cost effectiveness of residential yard trees for improving air quality in Sacramento, California, using existing models. Atmospheric Environment 32: 75-84. Mullen, J.K., and F.C. Menz. 1985. The effect of acidification damages on the economic value of the Adirondack Fishery to New-York Anglers. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 67: 112-119. Newell, R.G., and W.A. Pizer. 2003. Discounting the distant future: how much do uncertain rates increase valuations? Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 46: 52-71. NJEPA. 2005. Cost of New York City watershed protection program. EPA [online: http://www.epa.gov/region02/water/nycshed/protprs.htm], revised on May 2006. Nordhaus, W.D. 1993. Rolling the dice - an optimal transition path for controlling greenhouse gases. Resource and Energy Economics 15: 27-50. Nordhaus, W.D., and Z.L. Yang. 1996. A regional dynamic general-equilibrium model of alternative climate-change strategies. American Economic Review 86: 741-765. Nordhaus, W. D., and D. Popp. 1997. What is the value of scientific knowledge? an application to global warming using the PRICE model. Energy Journal 18: 1-45. Nunes, P., and J. van den Bergh. 2004. Can people value protection against invasive marine species? evidence from a joint TC-CV survey in the Netherlands. Environmental & Resource Economics 28: 517-532. Oster, S. 1977. Survey results on the benefits of water pollution abatement in the Merrimace River Basin. Water Resources Research 13: 882-884. Parsons, G.R., and M. Powell. 2001. Measuring the cost of beach retreat. Coastal Management 29: 91-103. Pate, J., and J. Loomis. 1997. The effect of distance on willingness to pay values: a case study of wetlands and salmon in California. Ecological Economics 20: 199207. Patrick, R., J. Fletcher, S. Lovejoy, W. Vanbeek, G. Holloway, and J. Binkley. 1991. Estimating regional benefits of reducing targeted pollutants - an application to agricultural effects on water-quality and the value of recreational fishing. Journal of Environmental Management 33: 301-310. Pimentel, D., C. Wilson, C. McCullum, R. Huang, P. Dwen, J. Flack, Q. Tran, T. Saltman, and B. Cliff. 1997. Economic and environmental benefits of biodiversity. BioScience 47: 747-757. Piper, S. 1997. Regional impacts and benefits of water-based activities: an application in the Black Hills region of South Dakota and Wyoming. Impact Assessment 15: 335-359. Plambeck, E.L. and C. Hope. 1996. PAGE95 - An updated valuation of the impacts of global warming. Energy Policy 24: 783-793. Pompe, J.J., and J.R. Rinehart. 1995. Beach quality and the enhancement of recreational property-values. Journal of Leisure Research 27: 143-154. Prince, R., and E. Ahmed. 1989. Estimating individual recreation benefits under congestion and uncertainty. Journal of Leisure Research 21: 61-76.
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Reilly, J.M., and K.R. Richards. 1993. Climate change damage and the trace gas index issue. Environmental & Resource Economics 3: 41-61. Rein, F.A. 1999. An economic analysis of vegetative buffer strip implementation - case study: Elkhorn Slough, Monterey Bay, California. Coastal Management 27: 377390. Reyes, J., and W. Mates. 2004. The economic value of New Jersey State parks and forests. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Ribaudo, M., and D.J. Epp. 1984. The importance of sample discrimination in using the travel cost method to estimate the benefits of improved water quality. Land Economics 60: 397-403. Rich, P.R., and L. J. Moffitt. 1982. Benefits of pollution-control on Massachusetts Housatonic River - a hedonic pricing approach. Water Resources Bulletin 18: 1033-1037. Robinson, W.S, R. Nowogrodzki, and R.A. Morse. 1989. The value of honey bees as pollinators of US crops. American Bee Journal July: 477-487. Roughgarden, T,. and S. H. Schneider. 1999. Climate change policy: quantifying uncertainties for damages and optimal carbon taxes. Energy Policy 27: 415-429. Sala, O.E., and f. M. Paruelo. 1997. Ecosystem services in grassland. Pages 237-252 in G.C. Daily (Ed.). Nature's services: societal dependence on natural ecosystems. Island Press, Washington, D.C. Sanders, L.D., R.G. Walsh, and J.B. Loomis. 1990. Toward empirical estimation of the total value of protecting rivers. Water Resources Research 26: 1345-1357. Schauer, M.J. 1995. Estimation of the greenhouse gas externality with uncertainty. Environmental & Resource Economics 5: 71-82. Shafer, E.L., R. Carline, R.W. Guldin, and H.K. Cordell. 1993. Economic amenity values of wildlife - 6 case-studies in Pennsylvania. Environmental Management 17: 669-682. Silberman, J., D.A. Gerlowski, and N.A. Williams. 1992. Estimating existence value for users and nonusers of New-Jersey beaches. Land Economics 68: 225-236. Soderqvist, T., and H. Scharin. 2000. The regional willingness to pay for a reduced eutrophication in the Stockholm archipelago. Discussion paper No. 128. Beijer Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Southwick, E.E., and L. Southwick. 1992. Estimating the economic value of honeybees (Hymenoptera, Apidae) as agricultural pollinators in the United-States. Journal of Economic Entomology 85: 621-633. Taylor, L.O., and V.K. Smith. 2000. Environmental amenities as a source of market power. Land Economics 76: 550-568. Thibodeau, F.R., and B.D. Ostro. 1981. An economic analysis of wetland protection. Journal of Environmental Management 12: 19-30. Tol, R.S.J., and T.E. Downing. 2000. The marginal costs of climate changing emissions. The Institute for Environmental Studies, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tol, R.S.J. 1999. The marginal costs of greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Journal 20: 61-81. Tyrvainen, L. 2001. Economic valuation of urban forest benefits in Finland. Journal of Environmental Management 62: 75-92.
159
Vankooten, G.C., and A. Schmitz. 1992. Preserving waterfowl habitat on the Canadian prairies - economic incentives versus moral suasion. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 74: 79-89. Ward, F.A., B.A. Roach, and J.E. Henderson. 1996. The economic value of water in recreation: evidence from the California drought. Water Resources Research 32: 1075-1081. Whitehead, J.C. 1990. Measuring willingness-to-pay for wetlands preservation with the contingent valuation method. Wetlands 10: 187-201. Willis, K.G. 1991. The Recreational value of the Forestry Commission Estate in GreatBritain - a Clawson-Knetsch travel cost-analysis. Scottish Journal of Political Economy 38: 58-75. Willis, K.G., and G.D. Garrod. 1991. An individual travel-cost method of evaluating forest recreation. Journal of Agricultural Economics 42: 33-42. Young, C.E., and J.S. Shortle. 1989. Benefits and costs of agricultural non point-source pollution controls: the case of St. Albans Bay. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 44: 64-67.
160
Annex VI. Technical value transfer report.
2004 USD/ha·yr Land cover
Ecosystem service
Method
Single value
Mean
Source
Coastal - Marine
Continental shelf
Water supply
798
Soderqvist and Scharin 2000
CV
CV 1,278
1,278
Nunes and van den Bergh 2004
CRS
1,787
1,789
Hanley, Bell and Alvarez-Farizo 2003
1,287 Biological control
VT
49
49
Costanza and others 1997
49 Nutrient regulation
VT
1,787
1,787
Costanza and others 1997
1,787 Cultural & Spiritual
VT
86
86
Costanza and others 1997
86 3,210
Seagrass bed
Nutrient regulation
CV
24,228
Costanza and others 1997
24,228 24,228
Beach or dune
Disturbance prevention
HP
83,368
83,368
Pompe and Rinehart 1995
HP
51,432
51,432
Parsons and Powell 2001
67,400 Aesthetic & Recreational
HP CV
51,101
TC HP
324
1,791
Taylor and Smith 2000
51,101
Silberman, Gerlowski and Williams 1992
93,536
Kline and Swallow 1998
324
Edwards and Gable 1991
36,687 Cultural & Spiritual
HP
59
59
Taylor and Smith 2000
59 104,146
Saltwater wetland
Disturbance prevention
AC AC
2
VT
2
Farber 1987
2
Farber and Costanza 1987
2,296
Costanza and others 1997
766 Waste treatment
VT AC
40,920
AC AC
8,357
Costanza and others 1997
40,920
Breaux, Farber and Day 1995
269
Breaux, Farber and Day 1995
3,951
Breaux, Farber and Day 1995
13,376 Habitat
ME
2
ME
2
2
Lynne, Conroy and Prochaska 1981
2
Farber and Costanza 1987
VT
210
Costanza and others 1997
FI
1,357
Bell 1997
ME
914
Batie and Wilson 1978
497
161
Aesthetic & Recreational
TC
22
CV
35
HP
Farber 1988
35
Bergstrom and others 1990
136
Anderson and Edwards 1986
64 Cultural & Spiritual
CV
445
Anderson and Edwards 1986
445 15,147
Terrestrial
Temperate forest
Gas & climate regulation
VT
27
27
Reyes and Mates 2004
AC
32
32
Pimentel and others 1997
MP
141
141
Tol 1999
MP
746
746
Tol 1999
MP
64
64
Tol and Downing 2000
MP
40
40
Tol and Downing 2000
MP
183
183
Tol and Downing 2000
MP
49
49
Tol and Downing 2000
MP
193
193
Tol and Downing 2000
MP
2
2
Tol and Downing 2000
MP
57
57
Schauer 1995
MP
786
786
Schauer 1995
MP
96
96
Roughgarden and Schneider 1999
MP
121
121
Reilly and Richards 1993
MP
104
104
Reilly and Richards 1993
MP
49
49
Reilly and Richards 1993
MP
35
35
Reilly and Richards 1993
MP
49
49
Plambeck and Hope 1996
MP
1,035
1,035
Plambeck and Hope 1996
MP
27
27
Nordhaus and Popp 1997
MP
15
15
Nordhaus and Popp 1997
MP
15
15
Nordhaus and Yang 1996
MP
12
12
Nordhaus 1993
MP
82
82
Nordhaus 1993
MP
17
17
Nordhaus 1993
MP
2
2
Nordhaus 1993
MP
54
Newell and Pizer 2003
MP
37
Newell and Pizer 2003
40
Maddison 1995
MP
40
MP
69
69
Hope and Maul 1996
MP
47
47
Fankhauser 1994
MP
99
99
Fankhauser 1994
MP
42
42
Fankhauser 1994
109
Costanza and others 1997
MP MP
499
499
Azar and Sterner 1996
MP
25
25
Azar and Sterner 1996
MP
74
74
Azar and Sterner 1996
MP
163
163
Azar and Sterner 1996
133 Soil formation
VT
12 12
162
Costanza and others 1997
Erosion control
CV
Waste treatment
VT
122
Costanza and others 1997
122 109
Costanza and others 1997
109 Pollination
RC
400
Hougner in press
400 Biological control
VT
5
Habitat
CV
7
7
CV
1,053
Costanza and others 1997
5
.
Shafer and others 1993
1,053
Kenyon and Nevin 2001
CV
10
Haener and Adamowicz 2000
CV
8,011
Garrod and Willis 1997
37
Garrod and Willis 1997
CV
37
CV
4,720
Garrod and Willis 1997
CV
326
Amigues and others 2002
4,075
Amigues and others 2002
CV
2,281 Genetic resources
CV
20
Costanza and others 1997
20 Aesthetic & Recreational
TC
2
Willis 1991
TC
69
Willis 1991
TC
30
Willis 1991
TC
12
Willis 1991
TC
311
Willis 1991
TC
10
10
Willis and Garrod 1991
CV
1,134
1,134
Shafer and others 1993
2
Prince and Ahmed 1989
25
25
Maxwell 1994
44
Costanza and others 1997
CV
1,342
1,342
Bishop 1992
CV
1,198
1,198
Bishop 1992
CV CV VT
.
CV
356
356
Bennett and others 1995
CV
0
0
Haener and Adamowicz 2000
TC
0
0
Boxall, McFarlane and Gartrell 1996
301 Cultural & Spiritual
VT
2
Costanza and others 1997
Water supply
RC
781
NJEPA 2005
TC
22
Loomis 1988
2
403 3,789
Grassland
Gas & Climate regulation
VT
10
Costanza and others 1997
VT
0
0
Costanza and others 1997
MP
12
12
Sala and Paruelo 1997
7 Water regulation
VT
5
Erosion control
CV
37
Soil formation
DM
Costanza and others 1997
5 Costanza and others 1997
37 15
163
15
Pimentel and others 1997
VT
2
VT
109
Costanza and others 1997
7 Waste treatment
Costanza and others 1997
109 Pollination
VT
32
Costanza and others 1997
32 Biological control
VT
30
Costanza and others 1997
Aesthetic & Recreational
VT
2
2
Costanza and others 1997
CV
2
2
Alvarez-Farizo and others 1999
30
2 230
Cropland
Pollination
DM AC
27
12
Southwick and Southwick 1992
27
Robinson, Nowogrodzki and Morse 1989
20 Biological control
VT
30
Costanza and others 1997
Habitat
CV
3,069
3,069
Christie and others 2004
CV
1,035
1,035
Christie and others 2004
CV
64
64
Bergstrom, Dillman and Stoll 1985
CV
10
10
Alvarez-Farizo and others 1999
30
2,053 Aesthetic & Recreational
37 2,140
Freshwater wetland
Gas & Climate regulation
VT
331
Costanza and others 1997
331 Disturbance prevention
VT
9,037
Costanza and others 1997
9,037 Water regulation
AC
14,720
VT
14,720
Thibodeau and Ostro 1981
37
Costanza and others 1997
7,378 Water supply
CV
7,576
7,576
Pate and Loomis 1997
CV
420
420
Lant and Tobin 1989
CV
4,616
4,616
Lant and Tobin 1989
CV
0
CV TC
1,142
VT
0
Lant and Tobin 1989
3,462
Hayes, Tyrrell, and Anderson 1992
1,142
Creel and Loomis 1992
9,486
Costanza and others 1997
3,815 Waste treatment
VT
2,071
Costanza and others 1997
2,071 Habitat
CV
12
VT
12
Vankooten and Schmitz 1992
549
Costanza and others 1997
279 Aesthetic & Recreational
CV
3,311
CV
1,381
TC TC
74
CV
164
Whitehead 1990
1,381
Thibodeau and Ostro 1981
138
Thibodeau and Ostro 1981
74
Mahan, Polasky and Adams 2000
3,716
Hayes, Tyrrell and Anderson 1992
TC
9,741
9,741
TC
8,817
8,817
Doss and Taff 1996
613
Costanza and others 1997
VT
Doss and Taff 1996
3,474 Cultural & Spiritual
VT
2,199
Costanza and others 1997
2,199 28,585
Open freshwater
Water supply
TC
1,589
Ribaudo and Epp 1984
CV
69
69
Piper 1997
CV
904
904
Henry, Ley and Welle 1988
CV
1,191
1,191
Croke, Fabian and Brenniman 1986
TC
1,300
1,300
Bouwes and Scheider 1979
1,011 Aesthetic & Recreational
HP
173
173
Young and Shortle 1989
2,041
Ward, Roach and Henderson 1996
TC
2,318
2,318
Shafer and others 1993
TC
TC
1,161
1,161
Shafer and others 1993
CV
205
205
Shafer and others 1993
TC
507
507
Piper 1997
30
Patrick and others 1991
TC
381
381
Kreutzwiser 1981
TC
27
27
Kealy and Bishop 1986
TC
.
CV
442
Cordell and Bergstrom 1993
CV
1,038
Cordell and Bergstrom 1993
CV
1,142
Cordell and Bergstrom 1993
CV
1,898
Cordell and Bergstrom 1993
971
Burt and Brewer 1971
TC
971
880 1,890
Riparian buffer
Disturbance prevention
AC
131
Rein 1999
AC
304
Rein 1999
217 Water supply
HP
10
AC .
CV
10
Rich and Moffitt 1982
240
Rein 1999
32
32
Oster 1977
27,401
27,401
Mathews, Homans and Easter 2002
CV
465
465
Gramlich 1977
CV
10,119
10,119
Danielson and others 1995
CV
4,433
4,433
Berrens, Ganderton and Silva 1996
15
Kahn and Buerger 1994
0
Kahn and Buerger 1994
CRS
TC TC
0
4,747 Aesthetic & Recreational
CV
4,836
DM
4,836
Sanders, Walsh and Loomis 1990
171
Rein 1999 Mullen and Menz 1985
TC
810
810
HP
106
106
Kulshreshtha and Gillies 1993
CV
17
17
Greenley, Walsh and Young 1981
CV
3,104
3,104
Duffield, Neher and Brown 1992
CV
2,197
2,197
Duffield, Neher and Brown 1992
165
.
TC
Cultural & Spiritual
CV
15,837
Bowker, English and Donovan 1996
3,385 10
10
Greenley, Walsh and Young 1981
10 8,359
Urban greenspace
Gas & Climate regulation
DM
62
62
McPherson, Scott and Simpson 1998
AC
405
405
McPherson 1992
AC
2,026
2,026
McPherson 1992
AC
15
830 Water regulation
15
McPherson 1992
15 Aesthetic & Recreational
CV
8,562
8,562
Tyrvainen 2001
CV
2,921
2,921
Tyrvainen 2001
CV
4,312
4,312
Tyrvainen 2001
5,266 6,111
Notes: Code
Valuation method
DM
Direct market valuation
AC
Avoided cost
RC
Replacement cost
FI
Factor income
TC
Travel cost
HP
Hedonic pricing
CV
Contingent valuation
GV
Group valuation
MD
Multiattribute decision analysis
EA
Energy analysis
MP CRS
Marginal product estimation Combined Revealed and Stated Preference
MA
Meta-analysis
VT
Value transfer
166
Annex VII. Area of comarca by land use type in hectares.
Comarca
Alt Empordà
Baix Empordà
Selva
Maresme
Barcelonès
Baix Llobregat
Garraf
Baix Penedès
Tarragonès
Baix Camp
Baix Ebre
Montsià
55,385.8
Shelf (≤ 50 m)
14,801.1
8,061.3
3,891.0
22,057.8
6,111.6
7,684.3
22,478.4
5,445.5
10,841.0
11,140.1
23,586.6
Seagrass bed
180.5
174.5
73.0
975.0
100.1
0.0
2,174.5
211.0
426.7
2,697.9
1,555.3
0.0
Beach or dune
253.3
994.4
38.4
245.7
45.8
164.2
76.3
99.3
123.3
110.0
627.8
1,319.4
Saltwater wetland Total coastal
Temperate forest
54.1
3.6
10.0
346.6
2,040.1
15,289.1
9,233.8
4,002.4
23,278.5
6,257.5
7,886.6
38.0 24,729.1
5,756.9
1.1 11,391.0
13,958.0
26,116.3
58,745.4
20,801.1
76,157.1
33,010.5
75,881.8
20,851.2
1,846.8
18,685.5
7,474.6
13,772.5
7,503.2
32,984.7
41,503.3
Grassland
4,627.7
900.1
1,286.3
2,407.7
808.8
4,604.3
3,678.9
1,094.1
4,231.7
6,301.4
4,893.7
2,175.2
Cropland
46,467.5
27,727.8
13,935.2
6,623.9
87.8
9,413.7
2,965.4
9,695.8
12,788.5
25,762.9
47,216.5
43,731.3
Freshwater wetland
46.0
27.0
Open freshwater
908.1
242.6
775.8
163.1
119.8
452.3
32.9
47.2
318.4
430.7
1,562.4
557.4
Riparian buffer
438.6
135.2
11.0
5.5
33.5
370.0
1.5
30.9
219.0
58.6
244.1
1,010.1
Urban greenspace
208.4
277.4
141.4
107.1
494.0
157.1
78.5
49.0
152.0
130.7
52.0
Urban
4,859.2
5,225.8
6,347.7
9,186.7
10,986.9
13,203.0
3,838.9
4,724.0
6,357.2
3,470.8
2,330.2
1,058.1
Barren
1,167.4
4.5
34.5
591.1
81.5
16.0
41.5
147.6
1,211.7
485.5
Burned forest
156.5
1,357.7
925.7
224.9
26.8
24.6
Mining ground
251.9
208.8
153.2
48.1
33.6
975.2
242.0
104.4
84.0
166.4
222.1
191.1
6,435.0
6,796.8
7,461.1
9,459.7
11,020.5
14,769.3
4,164.6
4,844.5
6,509.5
3,809.4
3,764.0
1,794.1
135,288.5
69,090.4
99,519.5
39,618.2
14,411.3
48,452.3
18,396.3
29,533.9
31,722.4
69,478.4
99,236.0
70,069.2
150,578
78,324
103,522
62,897
20,669
56,339
43,125
35,291
43,113
83,436
125,352
128,815
Urban/barren/burned/mining
Total terrestrial
Total
Source: • • •
2.2
59.3
DARP. 2002. Zones de protecció de les praderies de fanerògames marines, 1:50,000. Departament d'Agricultura, Ramaderia i Pesca, Generalitat de Catalunya [online: http://www.gencat.net/darp/c/pescamar/sigpesca/csig14.htm], revised on May 2004. DARP. 2000. Corbes de batimetria del litoral català, fins a una profunditat de 1000 m, 1:50,000. Departament d'Agricultura, Ramaderia i Pesca, Generalitat de Catalunya [online: http://www.gencat.net/darp/c/pescamar/sigpesca/csig09.htm], revised on May 2004. DMAH. 2006. Cartografia 1:50.000 dels hàbitats de Catalunya (CHC50). Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge. Generalitat de Catalunya [online: http://mediambient.gencat.net/cat/el_medi/habitats/habitats_cartografia.htm#cd], revised on 23 May 2006.
167
168
Annex VIII. Annual flow of ecosystem services by land used type and comarca (USD/yr).
Alt Empordà Baix Empordà
Selva
Maresme
Barcelonès Baix Llobregat
Garraf
Baix Penedès Tarragonès
Baix Camp
Baix Ebre
Montsià
Total
%
Shelf (≤ 50 m)
47,509,542
25,875,715
12,489,524
70,802,453
19,617,346
24,665,554
72,152,509
17,479,255
34,798,072
35,758,280
75,709,738
177,780,837
614,638,825
Seagrass bed
4,374,123
4,228,174
1,769,783
23,623,003
2,425,392
0
52,682,914
5,112,108
10,338,427
65,365,278
37,682,172
0
207,601,373
6.5
Beach or dune
26,381,529
103,564,414
3,995,888
25,589,808
4,766,259
17,104,065
7,947,202
10,341,840
12,839,166
11,454,228
65,385,183
137,415,529
426,785,111
13.4
Saltwater wetland Total coastal
Temperate forest Grassland Cropland
19.2
819,883
54,137
0
0
0
576,252
0
16,223
0
151,201
5,250,360
30,902,689
37,770,746
1.2
79,085,077
133,722,439
18,255,196
120,015,263
26,808,998
42,345,871
132,782,625
32,949,426
57,975,665
112,728,988
184,027,453
346,099,055
1,286,796,055
40.3
288,577,404
125,084,614
287,534,056
79,010,151
6,998,022
70,803,840
28,323,051
52,187,388
28,431,389
124,986,712
157,265,756
78,820,352
1,328,022,735
41.6
1,063,171
206,791
295,516
553,156
185,823
1,057,790
845,186
251,351
972,201
1,447,678
1,124,282
499,722
8,502,667
0.3
99,436,243
59,334,963
29,819,991
14,174,611
187,878
20,144,505
6,345,752
20,748,165
27,366,285
55,130,300
101,039,018
93,581,123
527,308,834
16.5
Freshwater wetland
1,314,931
0
771,133
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2,086,065
0.1
Open freshwater
1,716,574
458,544
1,466,587
308,268
226,494
855,069
62,175
89,201
601,970
814,207
2,953,483
1,053,720
10,606,294
0.3
Riparian buffer
3,666,094
1,129,784
91,971
46,019
280,093
3,093,068
12,347
258,024
1,830,961
489,924
2,040,860
8,443,882
21,383,028
0.7
Urban greenspace
1,273,740
1,695,394
864,129
654,185
3,019,017
960,106
479,506
299,224
928,837
798,395
317,556
0
11,290,089
0.4
Total terrestrial 397,048,157
187,910,091
320,843,384
94,746,390
10,897,327
96,914,378
36,068,018
73,833,352
60,131,643
183,667,216
264,740,956
182,398,800
1,909,199,712
59.7
321,632,530
339,098,579
214,761,653
37,706,324
139,260,250
168,850,642
106,782,779
118,107,308
296,396,204
448,768,409
528,497,855
3,195,995,767
100
Total %
476,133,234 14.9
10.1
10.6
6.7
1.2
4.4
5.3
169
3.3
3.7
9.3
14.0
16.5
100
170
Annex IX. Population, GDP and available family income by comarca in USD for 2004.
Population
Alt Empordà Baix Empordà Selva Maresme Barcelonès Baix Llobregat Garraf Baix Penedès Tarragonès Baix Camp Baix Ebre Montsià Total
112,439 115,566 136,738 386,573 2,193,380 741,024 122,229 73,665 202,662 161,090 71,708 61,989 4,379,063
17,681 17,542 16,641 16,633 17,704 14,971 15,461 16,511 17,737 17,404 16,946 16,311 201,542
1,988,003,535 2,027,257,259 2,275,427,886 6,429,797,639 38,830,740,420 11,094,077,988 1,889,828,367 1,216,308,649 3,594,655,502 2,803,585,140 1,215,186,758 1,011,085,676 74,375,954,819
Catalonia
6,813,319
16,949
115,476,225,578
Source: • •
Per capita
Available family income Total
Comarca
% 2.7 2.7 3.1 8.6 52.2 14.9 2.5 1.6 4.8 3.8 1.6 1.4 100
Gross domestic product Per capita Total 22,824 20,929 24,769 16,037 30,605 22,265 15,997 16,647 30,926 26,979 22,288 19,593 269,858
2,566,296,597 2,418,723,474 3,386,803,157 6,199,546,868 67,128,061,869 16,498,675,072 1,955,343,870 1,226,332,646 6,267,430,504 4,346,028,452 1,598,216,914 1,214,526,796 114,805,986,220
21,757
148,238,940,421
% 2.2 2.1 3.0 5.4 58.5 14.4 1.7 1.1 5.5 3.8 1.4 1.1 100
Population & income: IDESCAT. 2006. Anuari Estadístic 2005. Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya [online: http://www.idescat.net/], revised on 22 July 2006. GDP: Caixa Catalunya. 2005. Anuari Econòmic Comarcal 2005. Caixa Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, 139 pp.
171
172
Annex X. Contribution of comarca’s and HEMU’s ESV flow to its GDP and income. Comarca: Comarca
ESV Flow (USD/ha·yr)
Alt Empordà Baix Empordà Selva Maresme Barcelonès Baix Llobregat Garraf Baix Penedès Tarragonès Baix Camp Baix Ebre Montsià
476,133,234 321,632,530 339,098,579 214,761,653 37,706,324 139,260,250 168,850,642 106,782,779 118,107,308 296,396,204 448,768,409 528,497,855
GDP %
Income %
18.6 13.3 10.0 3.5 0.1 0.8 8.6 8.7 1.9 6.8 28.1 43.5
24.0 15.9 14.9 3.3 0.1 1.3 8.9 8.8 3.3 10.6 36.9 52.3
60
GDP % Income % 40
20
HEMU: 35
30
GDP % 25
Income %
20
15
10
5
0 A
B
C
173
D
ià M on ts
re Eb
am p C
Ba ix
Pe Ba ix
Ba ix
Ta rra go nè s
ne dè s
f ar ra G
Ll ob re ga t Ba ix
el on ès Ba rc
es m e M ar
Se lv a
dà Em po r Ba ix
Al
tE
m po rd à
0
174
Annex XI. Descriptive statistics of sub-indicators of the Ecological Index of the Catalan coast.
N
Min.
Max.
Mean
Std. Dev.
Variance
1
4
2.08
0.62
0.38
Skewness
Kurtosis
Veg. richness
50,289
Veg. rarity
50,289
1
4
1.31
0.59
0.35
1.93
3.55
Implantation area
50,289
1
4
2.35
0.61
0.37
-0.01
-0.33
Succession stage
50,289
1
4
2.07
1.19
1.42
0.56
-1.28
Biogeographic rep.
50,289
1
4
1.56
0.67
0.45
0.92
0.23
175
0.40
0.81
176
Annex XII. Descriptive statistics of sub-indicators of the Human Influence Index of the Catalan coast.
N
Min.
Max.
Mean
Std. Dev.
Variance
Skewness
Kurtosis
Tourism
29,257
0
3
0.65
0.72
0.52
0.97
0.69
Land cover
29,257
0
18
8.72
5.84
34.09
-0.16
-1.06
Population density
29,257
1
10
2.11
1.85
3.42
2.33
5.59
Access
29,257
0
4
2.88
1.80
3.22
-0.98
-1.04
Heavy industry
29,257
0
8
0.15
0.47
0.22
8.50
127.71
Erosion
29,257
0
8
0.02
0.41
0.17
19.23
369.21
Note: N of 29,257 represents the resampled 500 x 500 m grid using bilinear interpolation of the original N of 22,848,540 of the 50 x 50 m grid for statistical data management purposes.
177
178
Annex XIII. Summary of the Human Influence Index scores by land cover.
Domain
Land cover
Shelf (≤ 50 m) Seagrass bed Coastal-marine Beach or dune Saltwater wetland
Terrestrial
Temperate forest Grassland Cropland Freshwater wetland Open freshwater Riparian buffer Urban greenspace Urban Barren Burned forest Mining ground
Area (ha)
Min.
Max.
191,484 8,568 4,098 2,494
0 1 6 1
350,472 37,010 246,416 73 5,611 2,558 1,848 71,589 3,781 2,778 2,681
1 1 1 1 1 1 7 11 1 9 2
179
Average
SD
32 25 38 27
6.70 14.09 18.04 7.15
6.40 4.89 7.20 5.36
36 38 36 14 36 34 38 51 22 26 36
9.24 12.94 18.33 12.21 13.42 12.49 23.66 27.94 6.85 20.07 22.15
6.33 6.50 5.14 4.30 4.73 5.96 5.96 4.25 6.20 5.61 5.31
180
Annex XIV. Summary of PEIN areas’ ESV flow and indexes in the Catalan coast.
PEIN code
Original flow (USD/yr)
Aver. EI
Aver. HFI
Aver. FI
Aver. ESPCI
Integrated flow (USD/yr)
AAE
26,947,783
5.3
38.1
2.5
3.0
ABE
4,859,845
5.1
43.4
2.3
2.5
35,983,258 6,343,537
ALB
34,245,949
6.7
25.7
2.0
5.3
54,882,024
ALG
37,365,746
7.7
24.7
2.1
6.3
64,052,983
ARB
339,395
5.1
34.3
1.7
3.5
446,430
BGM
2,016,335
5.5
48.8
2.0
3.1
2,742,736
CCR
34,456,796
5.8
38.5
1.8
4.0
50,197,619
CEL
10,517,874
5.6
42.8
1.9
3.5
14,907,399
CLR
12,659,247
5.2
53.2
1.9
2.7
16,159,047
CLS
8,778,284
7.0
33.5
2.0
5.2
14,113,137
CRD
22,743,508
6.3
16.3
1.9
5.6
37,790,804
CSC
127,845
4.9
51.9
1.9
2.4
151,936
CSD
322,605
5.3
42.0
1.7
3.3
449,854
CTC
1,817,848
5.8
40.9
1.9
3.9
2,686,394
1,869
6.0
25.0
2.0
5.0
2,804
CTI CTM
19,444,588
6.4
44.9
2.0
4.0
30,504,231
DEB
256,323,132
5.8
31.3
2.7
3.8
380,624,550
DLL
3,815,531
5.1
57.2
2.6
1.3
4,456,543
EBI
107,126
5.0
41.0
2.7
2.2
128,824
GAI
43,647
2.7
68.9
1.8
-0.6
57,738
GAV
61,260,439
5.9
33.7
2.0
4.1
94,006,243
GIL
31,608,645
5.9
24.1
2.0
4.6
49,333,137
GRF
16,810,553
5.6
36.3
1.9
3.8
24,708,160
JOE
394,617
6.3
48.4
2.4
3.2
408,476
LCJ
5,210,157
5.5
11.6
2.0
4.9
8,466,130
MAR
153,739
6.3
12.4
2.0
5.6
247,138
MCS
21,223,292
5.5
28.8
1.9
4.1
33,287,432
MCT
310,042
5.8
50.6
1.9
3.3
485,613
MGI
18,690,224
5.4
42.8
2.0
3.2
26,649,903
MIA
12,731,600
5.5
15.3
2.0
4.7
21,101,502
MML
5,123,724
5.6
39.9
1.8
3.8
7,905,864
MPS
1,321,724
6.4
15.5
2.4
5.5
2,279,077
MSY
21,570,642
6.4
25.1
2.0
4.9
34,845,889
MTS
2,919,411
6.2
32.9
2.0
4.5
4,586,618
OLD
305,779
6.2
46.2
1.9
3.9
444,786
ORD
7,476,143
5.7
34.0
1.8
4.1
11,124,693
PRA
21,668,476
5.9
26.8
2.0
4.4
34,062,685
PRO
313,216
4.1
45.2
1.8
2.3
394,168
PSD
452,285
6.5
13.6
2.0
5.7
736,233
PTT
86,091,649
6.2
19.9
2.0
5.2
143,286,180
RJP
1,609,785
5.5
53.4
1.7
3.1
2,253,390
SCR
191,775
4.1
34.9
1.7
2.5
246,492
SIE
1,952,959
4.6
47.9
1.9
2.2
1,966,745
SJP
961,177
5.3
45.2
2.0
3.1
1,362,896
SLB
357,270
5.1
40.9
1.8
3.1
500,122
SLS
15,582,611
6.5
32.4
2.3
4.5
24,941,544
SSM
109,708
4.9
51.3
2.5
1.7
119,961
TBP
2,153,040
7.2
59.2
3.6
1.8
1,796,766
TDS
147,324
4.7
43.7
2.0
2.5
184,740
181
TPM
316,432
5.1
67.6
1.9
1.6
384,139
TRD
121,284
5.5
41.3
1.8
3.4
178,637
TVM
10,401,720
6.5
4.5
2.0
6.5
17,360,144
Total
826,476,394
Min.
1,869
2.7
4.5
1.7
-0.6
1,266,337,351 2,804
Max.
256,323,132
7.7
68.9
3.6
6.5
380,624,550
Average
15,893,777
5.7
37.1
2.0
3.7
24,352,641
Median
3,367,471
5.6
39.2
2.0
3.8
4,521,581
Source of PEIN area name and description: •
DMAH. 2006. Cartografia 1:25,000 del Pla d'Espais d'Interès Natural de Catalunya. Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge. Generalitat de Catalunya [online: http://mediambient.gencat.net/cat/el_departament/cartografia/fitxes/pein.jsp?ComponentID=5469&SourcePag eID=6463#1], revised on 1 October 2006.
PEIN code
PEIN code
Name
Name
AAE
Aiguamolls de l'Alt Empordà
MCS
Serres de Montnegre-el Corredor
ABE
Aiguamolls del Baix Empordà
MCT
Turons de Maçanet el Montgrí
ALB
Massís de l'Albera
MGI
ALG
l'Alta Garrotxa
MIA
Serra de Montsià
ARB
Riera d'Arb·cies
MML
el Montmell
BGM
Muntanyes de Begur
MPS
Penya-segats de la Muga
CCR
Cap de Creus
MSY
Massís del Montseny
CEL
la Conreria-Sant Mateu-Céllecs
MTS
Montserrat
CLR
Serra de Collserola
OLD
Olèrdola
CLS
Collsacabra
ORD
Muntanyes de l'Ordal
CRD
Serres de Cardó-el Boix
PRA
Muntanyes de Prades
CSC
Cap de Santes Creus
PRO
Pinya de Rosa
CSD
Volcà de la Crosa
PSD
Serres de Pradell-l'Argentera
CTC
Castell-Cap Roig
PTT
els Ports
CTI
Illa de Canet
RJP
la Rojala-Platja del Torn
CTM
Massís de les Cadiretes
SCR
Riera de Santa Coloma
DEB
Delta de l'Ebre
SIE
Estany de Sils
DLL
Delta del Llobregat
SJP
la Plana de Sant Jordi
EBI
Illes de l'Ebre
SLB
Barrancs de Sant Antoni-Lloret-la Galera Massís de les Salines
GAI
Desembocadura del Riu Gaià
SLS
GAV
les Gavarres
SSM
Sèquia Major
GIL
les Guilleries
TBP
Platja de Torredembarra i Creixell
GRF
Massís del Garraf
TDS
Estanys de Tordera
JOE
Estanys de la Jonquera
TPM
Tamarit-Punta de la Mora
LCJ
Serra de Llaberia
TRD
Roureda de Tordera
MAR
Mare de Déu de la Roca
TVM
Muntanyes de Tivissa-Vandellòs
182
Annex XV. The last of the wild of the coastal comarcas in Catalonia.
183
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Publications, participation in symposia and appointments •
Valuation study indexed in: Nature Valuation and Financing Network – Case Study Database (http://www.naturevaluation.org).
•
Spatial data layers metadata indexed in: Conservation GeoPortal Conservation Commons Initiative (http://www.conservationmaps.org): o o o o o
–
Homogeneous Environmental Management Units (HEMU) Ecosystem Services Value flow (ESV) Ecological Index (EI) Human Footprint Index (HFI) Ecosystem Services’ Provision Capacity Index (ESPCI)
Note: use “catalan” and/or “brenner” keywords in search
•
Research appointment: o
•
Visiting scholar, Ecoinformatics Collaboratory, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA, July 2006 [working with Marta Ceroni, Ph.D. and Ferdinando Villa, Ph.D.].
Publications in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters & symposia proceedings: Brenner, J., and J.A. Jimenez. 2004. Evaluation of human pressure on ichthyofauna in Catalonian coastal waters. In Proceedings of the 37th International Conference of the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM), Barcelona, June 7-11. Brenner, J., and J.A. Jiménez. 2005. Coastal zone GIS data model: a proposal for ICZM. In Proceedings of Coastal Governance, Planning, Design & GI, ECO-IMAGINE/GISIG & Université de Nice - Sophia Antipolis, Nice. Brenner, J., J.A. Jimenez, and R. Sarda. 2005. Environmental indicators GIS of the Catalonian coast. In Proceedings of the CoastGIS 2005 International Conference, D. Green (Ed.), Aberdeen, July 21-23. Brenner, J., J.A. Jiménez, and R. Sardá, 2006. Definition of environmental Homogeneous management units for the Catalonian coastal zone. Environmental Management 38: 993-1005 [online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0210-6]. Brenner, J., J.A. Jiménez, and R. Sardá. 2006. Interacting processes and functions that determine the environmental health and change of the coastal socio-ecological system. Pages 205-212 in M. Forkiewicz (Ed.) Proceedings of Littoral 2006 Conference: Integrated Coastal Zone Management – Theory and Practice, Gdansk, Poland, September 18-20. Brenner, J., J.A. Jiménez, and R. Sardá, 2006. Identification of environmental homogeneous management units as a management tool for the Catalan coast. Pages 503-506 in Proceedings of the 5th European Congress on Regional Geoscientific Cartography and Information Systems (ECONGEO), Cartographic Institute of Catalonia, Barcelona, June 13-16.
185
Brenner, J., J.A. Jiménez, A. Garola, and R. Sardá. 2007. Spatial valuation of ecosystem services in the Catalan coast. Proceedings of the CoastGIS 07 Conference, Santander. October 8-10 [accepted]. Brenner, J., and J.A. Jimémez. 2007. Spatial database model of ichthyofauna bioindicators of coastal environmental quality. Pages: 25-36 in E. Vanden Berghe et al. (Ed.) Proceedings of the Ocean Biodiversity Informatics: International Conference on Marine Biodiversity Data Management, IOC Workshop Report 202, UNESCO/IOC/VLIZ/BSH, Hamburg, 29 November - 1 December, 2004. Brenner, J., J.A. Jiménez, and R. Sardá. submitted. Environmental indicators system: application to the Catalan coast. In D. Green (Ed.) Coastal and Marine Geospatial Technologies, Coastal Systems and Continental Margins Book Series, Springer, New York. Brenner, J., J.A. Jiménez, A. Garola, and R. Sardá. in preparation. Ecosystem services value of the coastal zone in Catalonia, Spain [to be sent to Ocean and Coastal Management].
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