The value of biodiversity

1
The value of biodiversity
2
Conservation of tropical biodiversity

• Biodiversity the main challenges
• A rationale for biodiversity conservation
• Lessons from island biogeography
• The value of biodiversity
• Small and other fragile populations
• Overexploitation a scrutiny of wildlife trade

3
Biodiversity is a natural asset that provides
goods and services

• Food
• Medicine
• Materials
• Chemical products
• Water soil supply
• Climate regulation
• Science technology
• Sewage garbage treatment
• Biological control
• Pollination

• Recreation
• Inspiration
• Spiritual stimulation
• Contemplation
• Peace of mind
• Religious experiences

It contributes to the social, economic,
intellectual and spiritual development of society.
4
The value of biodiversity

• Concepts about the value of nature
• Value of wildlife
• For sport hunters
• For tourists
• Bioprospecting uncertain benefits
• Ecotourism what is payed for?
• Environmental services free water free air?

5
What sort of values?
No use ... No value?

• Ethical values of nature
• Environmental ethics
• 1. Every species has a right to exist.
• 2. The custody over nature is an agreement with
  God.
• 3. All species are interdependent.
• 4. We have obligations toward our neighbours.
• 5. We have obligations toward the next
  generations.
• 6. Respect for human life and diversity is
  compatible with respect for biodiversity.
• Economic values of nature
• Environmental economics

6
Economic value some questions

• What is the cost of producing water to a forest?
• What is the cost of maintaining a forest as such
  to its owner?
• What is the cost of research to look for new,
  sustainable uses of that forest or ecosystem?
• How much shoud be payed to visit that ecosystem?
• What is the value of the scenic beauty to an
  ecotourist?
• Who should pay?
• Who should receive the payment?

From Castro G. 1999
7
Economic values

• Value of organisms in their natural state
• Market value of organisms
• Future value of organisms

8
Economic values

• Direct values
• Consumption use values
• products harvested and consumed
• Production use values revenue generated by
  products from trade
• E.g. 10 billion US / year from wildlife trade
• Indirect values
• Non-consumption values Economic benefit derived
  without harvesting or otherwise harming
  biodiversity
• E.g. from environmental services, ecotourism,
  etc.

9
Economic value of (lost) biodiversity

• National Geographic November 2001

10
Fine for illegal wildlife trade

• Market price
• Ecological value of the species
• Level of threat to the species
• Costs of repairing the damage
• First or multiple offender

Claudia Durana
11
Examples of economic values of biodiversity

• Value of wildlife
• For sport hunters
• For tourists
• Bioprospecting uncertain benefits
• Ecotourism what is payed for?
• Environmental services free water free air?

12
Extractive use sport hunting

• Kenya NPs Yearly value of a live lion US
  27.000, elephant US 610.000
• (D. Western)

13
Shark watching
50 of tourists go diving.
Maldives (1992)
76,850 dives at 35 specific shark- watching
sites, at US30 per dive
Annual expenditure by divers US 2.3 million
(indirect revenues not included)
14
Shark watching

• A single grey reef shark at the most popular
  dive site was worth about US 3,300 per year,
  year after year (18 years longevity).
• The same shark would have a one time value of US
  32 if caught by a local fisherman.

• At least 100 x worth more alive than dead.

15
Shark species regularly encountered by divers in
the Maldives
16
Shark watching
20 sharks /dive
1 shark /dive

• 58 saw fewer sharks than expected
• 83 of repeat visitors thought that there had
  been a decrease in shark numbers since their last
  visit.
• revenue loss of US 500.000/year at Fish Head.

17
Shark watching

• By 1997 the nominal value of reef sharks in the
  Maldives, despite the declining shark population,
  was calculated to be in the order of US 6.6
  million on the basis of will to pay (direct
  diving revenue).
• Shark watching is probably now more important
  for the tourist economy in the Maldives than ever
  before, following the widespread effects of coral
  bleaching in the Indian Ocean.

18
Ray watching
English name Scientific name Maldivian
name Manta ray Manta birostris En madi Black
spotted stingray Taeniura meyeni Naru nagoo
madi Brown stingray Himantura fai Naru
nagoo madi
19
Ray watching

• By 1997 the nominal value of ray watching in the
  Maldives was calculated to be in the order of US
  7.8 million on the basis of will to pay (direct
  diving revenue).

20
Measures to protect the whale ray watching
industry in the Maldives

• 1995 Creation of 15 marine protected areas (dive
  sites).
• 1995 Whale shark fishing prohibited.
• 1995 Export of rays prohibited.
• 1996 Export of ray skins prohibited.
• 1998 All shark fishing in tourism zone
  prohibited.

21
Whale shark watching
Ningaloo Marine Park in Western Australia In
1995, mean expenditure by participants in whale
shark tours was A3,198 per person, (including
travel costs within Australia). Based on 2,000
participants, this translated to A 6.4 million.
In 1997, an estimated 2,640 participants
translated to an industry 'value' of A 8.4
million.
22
Whale shark watching

• The Seychelles
• potential of US3.95 to 4.99 million per
  annum.
• Thailand - Pukhet a minimum of US 3 million
  per annum.
• Other sites Philippines, the east coast of
  Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, eastern Indonesia and
  Christmas Island.
• The Threat fisheries

23
A new paradigm in biodiversity conservation

• The best way to conserve the biodiversity is to
  turn it into an instrument for human sustainable
  development.

24
Costa Rican biodiversity international framework
for its management

• 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (United
  Nations Conference on Environment and
  Development) a strategy for "sustainable
  development - meeting our needs while ensuring
  that we leave a healthy and viable world for
  future generations.
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• Convention on Climate Change
• Agenda 21

25
Convention on Biological Diversity

• gt 175 countries
• Three main goals
• the conservation of biological diversity
• the sustainable use of its components
• the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits
  from the use of genetic resources.

www.biodiv.org/chm www.dainet.de/bmu-cbd (German)
26
NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
SAVE IT
KNOW IT
USE IT
Bottom line Use it or lose it
27
BiodiversityKnow it, use it - introducing INBio

• National Institute of Biodiversity
• Non-profit private association. A scientific
  institution with
• social orientation.

www. inbio.ac.cr (English)
28

• Mission Promote a new awareness of the value of
  biodiversity, and thereby achieve its
  conservation and use to improve the quality of
  life.
• Vision We are an institution leader in the
  search and popularization of the knowledge about
  biodiversity and its sustainable uses.

29
Uses of biodiversity
Costa Rica will obtain greater control of its
biodiversity and, mainly, greater benefits for
its society if it increases its capacity to add
value and information to the country's biological
resources. INBio
30
Adding value to biodiversity Bioprospecting

• The search for new sources of chemistry
  compounds, genes, micro and macro organisms, and
  other valuable natural products with potential
  use in pharmaceutical, agricultural and
  biotechnology industries.
• The systematic search for natural products with
  economic potential.

31
Bioprospecting steps

• Medicine against parasites, virus, fungi
  anesthetics, narcotics, muscle relaxant,...
• Agroindustry insecticides, fungicides,
  biological control.
• Diverse materials sweeteners, flavors, odours,
  colours, cosmetics,...

32
Uses of biodiversity

• BIOPROSPECTING involves location, detailed
  description and collection of species that are
  not in danger of genetic erosion. Field work is
  done by parataxonomists.
• BIOPROSPECTING research agreements foster
  innovation, learning and local capacity building.
• BIOPROSPECTING processes takes place in the
  country's wild protected areas in collaboration
  with the Ministry of the Environment and Energy
  (MINAE).

33
Uses of biodiversity sharing the benefits of
bioprospecting
Protected Areas
Protected Areas
INBio

Client
34
Sharing the benefits

• 1993-2000 INBio has made direct financial
  contributions to the Conservation Areas (35),
  MINAE (15), national universities (25) and
  other divisions in INBio (25), that exceed 2.5
  million dollars.
• 1993-1997 US 366.396 from bioprospecting to
  national system of conservation areas.
• Bioprospecting the industry of the next century?

35
Sharing the (non-tangible) benefits

• The issue of benefits accrued from bioprospecting
  is difficult given the inherent complexities of
  assigning value to the accumulated and increased
  knowledge of our own biodiversity, to the
  transfer of know-how and technology that has
  occurred, or to capacity building among others.

36
Uses of biodiversity Ecotourism

• Ecotourism A visit to a natural setting, in which
  the tourist admires and learns about the natural
  and cultural attributes while contributing to its
  conservation.

37
Biodiversity The backbone of ecotourism in Costa
Rica

• 4 of global biodiversity in 0.01 of the earths
  land surface.
• Highest species richness per km2 of the world.
• 25.3 of C.R.s territory under state protection.
• 525 km of nature trails in protected areas.
• The species, the scenic beauty, the richness, the
  green, the sizes, the setting ...

38
Ecotourism in Costa Rica
increasing

• Non-extractive use of biodiversity.
• Costa Rica gt 1 million tourists / year
• Main source of income to Costa Rican economy.
• 71 of foreign tourists visit protected areas.

39
Ecotourism in C.R. the client

• 70 of visitors are motivated by natural
  sightseeing.
• 40 make their own travel arrangements.
• 53 are professionals and 15 students.
• Average stay is 11.5 days.
• Average expenditure is US 1,200.

40
57 nationals
41
Visitation of protected areas income generated
by visitors - 2000
42
The value of the ecotourism experience the
tourists perspective
What is bought?
What is payed for?

• A dream, an expectation
• Nature, biodiversity
• Recreation
• A learning experience
• Quality of the experience

• Transportation
• Accomodation
• Food
• Souvenirs

Where is the value of biodiversity and the
countrys investment in its protection?
43
The tourist company
What is sold?
What is charged for?

• Scenic beauty and biodiversity
• Transportation
• Food
• Accomodation
• Souvenirs

• Transportation
• Food
• Accomodation
• Souvenirs
• Recreation

What about the biodiversity and its environmental
services? .... The quality of the experience? ...
The dream?
44
The value of the ecotourism experience
What is taken by the ecotourist?
What is left behind by the ecotourist?

• Images
• Memories
• Souvenirs

• Foreign currency
• Know how
• Garbage

What did Costa Rica sell?
45
Ecotourism

• Pays for
• _______________
• _______________
• _______________

• Benefits from
• Biodiversity conservation
• Scenic beauty
• Clean air
• Adequate quality and quantity of water
  (consumption/recreation)

Who pays? Who benefits?
46
The value of biodiversity

• Concepts about the value of nature
• Value of wildlife
• For sport hunters
• For tourists
• Bioprospecting uncertain benefits
• Ecotourism what is payed for?
• Environmental services free water free air?

47
Environmental services improve the quality of
life of the citizens

• Costa Rican biodiversity law (7788) defines 4
  environmental services
• Water resources
• Fixation of gases causing a greenhouse effect
• Scenic beauty
• Biological diversity

48
Opportunities from Environmental Services

• Conservation of natural resources
• Generation of income to fund conservation
• Acknowledgement of the value of environmental
  services formerly taken for granted and free.
• An asset to the quality of life (clean water and
  air, scenic beauty, etc.)
• Sustainability of socioeconomic activities
  (industry depending on water, ecotourism, etc.)

49
Environmental Services Carbon fixation

• Pollute at home, then pay the tropics to fix it
  (Costa Ricas proposal for Kyoto Protocol)
• Incentive for private land owners - in situ
  conservation.
• 1999 3.8 of Costa Rican territory protected
  under ES incentives for conservation.
• Funding 1/3 from fuel tax (US 20 mio/year), 2/3
  from international cooperation agreements.
• Payments approx. US 35 / ha / year
• Biodiversifix

Framework Convention on Climatic Change - Rio
1992
50
Environmental Services Carbon fixation
51
Problems with payments for environmental services

• Payments do not always follow technically defined
  priorities.
• The approach is forestry biased.
• The costs of some ES are not internalized.
• Small land owners have less access to incentives.
• Little follow-up after payments are made.

From National Biodiversity Strategy
52
Problems with payments for environmental services

• The funding capacity of the state does not
  satisfy the demand. At the same time, some of the
  
• funds available
• were not spent.

53
Perspectives for payments for ES

• Legal framework.
• Mechanisms for the estimation and management of
  bills and payments for ES.
• Projects to generate funds for payments.
• Incentives for research, development and trade of
  products from biodiversity.
• Zonification with criteria for payments.

From National Biodiversity Strategy
54
Zonification with criteria for payments
55
Uses of biodiversity

• Environmental services in Costa Rica
• Scenic beauty
• Bat pollination services

56
Uses of biodiversity

• Environmental services Good neighbours
  Guanacaste Conservation Area GCA- Del ORO orange
  plantation
• Del ORO needs
• water for irrigation
• ECO O.K. certification to compete in selected
  international markets
• efficient waste disposal
• isolation of special varieties

57
Environmental services Good neighbours

• GCA offers
• water throughout the year
• biological control of pests
• biodegradation of orange waste
• secluded areas surrounded by forest
• shared carbon fixation
• technical advice

• Del ORO needs
• water
• ECO O.K. certification
• waste disposal
• isolation of special varieties

58
Environmental services Good neighbours

• Payment for such services

59
Problems with economic environmental values

• Resource economics based on market forces may
  disregard the costs of environmental degradation
  and ignore the future value of resources.
  (Gifford Pinchot)
• Distorted market economics national accounting
  system does not include investment in the
  environment, environmental costs of productive
  activities, or indirect values from environmental
  services.

60
Problems with economic environmental values

• Resource users do not face the real social cost
  of their behaviours.
• Those who invest in maintaining biodiversity do
  not harvest any benefits.
• UNEP 1995 Global Biodiversity Assessment.

Technicalities or a fundamental fallacy? Or a bit
of both?
61
(No Transcript)