It’s as complex as the sea itself - learning how to manage sustainably the valuable and varied marine resource of our coastline and seas. But that is just what the Crown Estate is trying to do. C.O.A.S.T. supporter Dr John M. Campbell presents a thoughtful appraisal of their work-in-progress. He highlights the fundamental need to re-invent the very methodology of economics itself – by focusing less on the exploitation of assets and more on the flows, natural benefits and structural limitations of the underlying ecosystems that generate the value in the first place. For an insight into this frame-shift in thinking, read on....
Re-inventing economics methodology to value marine ecosystems - a review of the Crown Estate report ‘Valuing the Marine Estate and UK Seas’
By Dr John M. Campbell
Imagine a situation where the natural resources of our coastal waters are subject to evaluation in a sustainable way for the future benefit of the country as a whole. The Crown Estate has commissioned a consortium of consultants specialising in marine economics to come up with a methodology for doing just that. But it is not that simple. Two fundamental issues stand in the way, the perceived universal right to exploit our seas for whatever resources can be turned to profit and the historical limitation in our competitive world of market economics that fails in its ability to place a monetary value on the environment or long term sustainability of diverse resources.
Challenging NPV
In recent years much effort has been directed to correcting this flaw in an economic system of valuation for investment which has inevitably led to the overexploitation, degradation and collapse of the natural systems that support our existence. By placing so much store in net present value (NPV) as a measure of development project value to companies and to our society we have focussed on maximising short term profitability to the detriment of our own welfare. NPV ignores quality of life and long term security. This is the background then for taking a new look at the wider implications of valuing our coastal marine resources and full marks to the Crown Estate for commissioning such work. This builds on the system of marine spatial planning (MaRS) already being developed in-house and adopting the tenets of the EU’s sustainable development strategy.
The consultants’ report prepared by ABPmer, a marine environmental organisation and EFTEC, an environmental economics specialist, and published recently by The Crown Estate set out to use an ecosystem services framework on which to base their study. It has only reached the scoping stage so far which is a good indicator of the challenge and complexity of the task set against the fundamental limitations outlined earlier. The scoping report is very much a desk study drawing heavily on work in progress in other areas, particularly with respect to the UK’s shared principles of sustainable development set out by DEFRA in ‘Securing the Future’ (DEFRA 2005). Indeed the consultants themselves are currently involved in much wider commissions on the same subject and therefore constantly refer in this report to activity elsewhere.
What are ecosystem services? Put simply, in any ecosystem such as the coastal seas there is an ecosystem structure, function, services and benefit. Physical, biological and chemical components make up the structure of any ecosystem. Interactions of these components leads to the ecosystem performing certain functions. Structures and functions exist whether or not we want or need them. They only offer a service (or material good) when we humans want or need it and the benefit can be assessed in some way or economically valued.
The report sets out an accepted classification of types of ecosystem services and examines what other scientists and research agencies have assigned to these categories. Two specifically apply to the marine environment and components of these have been adopted in this scoping report as the most promising model to adopt to meet the objective.
Flawed economics
The structure of the scoping report follows a predictable path looking first at how to value natural resources. It discusses economic value and then looks at a total economic value framework (DEFRA 2007), the total here incorporating use value and non-use value. So far, so good, but then the text errs towards a murky technical discussion which serves to illustrate how difficult it really is to use our flawed economics approach. The second part of the document concentrates on a framework for both policy and project appraisal within the concept of ecosystem services. There are illustrations of selected ecosystem services included here such as ‘seafood’ and it is reassuring to read that fisheries sustainability is not considered a straightforward subject: this is bearing in mind depleted stock resources and recovery through implied moratoriums leading to enhanced populations capable of being sustained (the same powerful argument put forward constantly by C.O.A.S.T. in the context of the Firth of Clyde). Other services such as raw materials, energy, space and waterways, physical wellbeing and even psychological wellbeing are discussed, giving scope for conservation and water quality.
Accumulating knowledge about the marine environment in the broadest terms is a service to mankind but how can these latter esoteric topics be valued? That is the challenge of this study. Clearly spatial considerations matter and the report distinguishes between aspects of the seabed and the water column advising they should be considered separately. Also adoption of a uniform computer based geographical information system (GIS) is considered essential and work already ongoing elsewhere with UKSeaMap is noted.
A new wave of thinking?
Finally the report struggles to find a simple straightforward solution to methodology and uniformity of approach in its conclusions and recommendations, all for understandable reasons as it is clear the authors are not alone in their task. Much of the practical outcome useful to The Crown Estate will emerge from much larger efforts ongoing elsewhere particularly in government and academic research to break through the constraints of classical market economics. Hopefully this work will yield measures of value and sustainability capable of describing and also practically managing in a more effective way our finite natural resources or natural capital.
NB:
Natural Capital The concept of natural capital is an extension of the conventional economic notion of capital assets in terms of goods and services, in this case relating to the natural environment. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yield a flow of valuable ecosystems goods and services into the future.
Ecosystems valuation The essentials of ecosystem evaluation and the challenges presented are to be found summarised on www.ecosystemvaluation.org
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