Barbier, E.B., Mensah, A.C.E. & Wilson, M. (2021). Valuing the Environment as Input, Ecosystem Services and Developing Countries. Environmental Resource Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-021-00570-0
Abstract: In outlining how “valuing the environment as input” could be applied to a number of contexts in low and middle-income countries, Karl-Göran Mäler laid the foundation for many additional applications of the production function approach as reported (Mäler in Valuing environmental benefits in developing countries. Special Report 29, Michigan State University, pp 11–32. 1991). The following review traces how his contribution has helped spawn a large literature on valuing ecosystem services as applied in low and middle-income countries. We examine a number of case studies illustrating such approaches. We also note growing interest in two important applications in low and middle-income countries: the hydrological function of forested watersheds and the storm protection provided by estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Using the example of storm protection by mangroves, we further explore the role of spatial characteristics in influencing the value attributed to this benefit.
Estimating water quality impacts in marine fisheries: The case of the Northern Shrimp in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence
Coauthored with Edward Barbier, Philippe Archambault and Charlotte Carrier-Belleau
Abstract: Marine water quality is important for sustaining fish and other organisms that inhabit marine ecosystems. However, anthropogenic activities have irrevocably transformed the natural environment, and their impact on ecosystems cannot be overlooked. In the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada, a gradual decline in oxygen levels has resulted in intermittently hypoxic regions and this has inflicted severe harm upon marine life. Using data from the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL), we develop a bioeconomic model that is used to estimate the impacts of variations in oxygen saturation on the commercial Northern Shrimp. This is unique in that the EGSL cannot yet be classified as hypoxic and as such, more immediate intervention may prove to be revenue-enhancing. By integrating parameter estimates from the empirical analysis into the bioeconomic model, numerical simulations are conducted to evaluate the revenue impact of increased oxygen saturation under different institutional arrangements. Our findings demonstrate that a policy that enhances oxygen saturation by a modest 5-percentage points above average (which would take all EGSL fishing zones out of the critical hypoxic range), in the context of restricted effort, would have led to as much as a 6.8% increase in profits from 1991 to 2018. The outcome of our analyses reveals that the efficacy of fishery management practices regulating open access plays a pivotal role in determining the economic impacts of improved environmental quality.
Quantifying the Impact of Nutrient Pollution in a Freshwater Fishery: The Case of Yellow Perch in the St. Lawrence River, Quebec
with Edward Barbier and Marc Mingelbier
Estimating water quality impacts on Snow Crab in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence River (EGSL), Canada
with Edward Barbier, Philippe Archambault and Charlotte Carrier-Belleau