ECONOMIC LINKAGES BETWEEN COASTAL WETLANDS AND HABITAT/SPECIES PROTECTION:  A REVIEW OF VALUE ESTIMATES REPORTED IN THE PUBLISHED LITERATURE

Kazmierczak, Richard F., Jr.

ECONOMIC LINKAGES BETWEEN COASTAL WETLANDS AND HABITAT/SPECIES PROTECTION: A REVIEW OF VALUE ESTIMATES REPORTED IN THE PUBLISHED LITERATURE

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Descripción

This manuscript summarizes a total of 8 peer-reviewed studies, published from 1975 to 2001, reporting 24 separate estimates for the disaggregate2 value of habitat and species protection services provided by coastal and non-coastal wetlands. Estimates varied within a single order of magnitude and were fairly tightly bounded. Considering only coastal zone wetlands across all study categories, the value of habitat and species protection ranged from $168.96/acre/year to $403.16/acre/year, with a mean and median of $249.44/acre/year and $253.47/acre/year, respectively. By comparison, reported estimates of willingness-to-pay (WTP) values for wetland habitat and species protection services ranged from a low of $30.12 to $434.67, with a mean and median of $211.59 and $213.86, respectively. Geographic location and type of wetland appeared to have a relatively minor impact on the estimated values.