TEEB Saba

Project

After the success of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) on Bonaire Wolfs Company continued the economic valuation of the natural environment in the Caribbean Netherlands. Healthy ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves are critical to these small island societies. To make well-founded decisions it is very important to understand how nature contributes to the economy and its wellbeing.

The total economic value (TEV) of the ecosystem services provided by the marine and terrestrial ecosystems are $29 million per year on Saba and $25 million on St Eustatius. With the current threats unmanaged, the TEV of nature on the islands will decrease significantly. Surveys among tourists and residents have been conducted to investigate the use of natural resources and their perception on environmental management. Value maps have been developed to incorporate the value of nature in land and marine spatial planning. Scenarios based on managing of roaming livestock, agricultural development and tourism expansion have been developed to simulate the change in the value of ecosystems over the next 30 years. The scenarios provide excellent input for welfare maximizing development strategies on the islands. 

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