The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for the Netherlands (TEEB-NL) programme has estimated the economic value of the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Caribbean Netherlands at US$122 million per year, or about US$5,800 for each of the islands' residents.
The study also offers policy tools to raise awareness, support decision-making, attract finance, undertake ecosystem damage assessments and facilitate spatial planning on the islands.
26 August 2014: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for the Netherlands (TEEB-NL) programme has estimated the economic value of the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Caribbean Netherlands at US$122 million per year, or about US$5,800 for each of the islands’ residents. The study also offers policy tools to raise awareness, support decision-making, attract finance, undertake ecosystem damage assessments and facilitate spatial planning on the islands.
The Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs commissioned researchers at the VU University Amsterdam and Wolfs Company to conduct the study in consultation with several thousand tourists, local residents, and mainland Dutch citizens between 2012 and 2014. Based on these consultations, researchers used contingent valuation methods and choice experiments to determine willingness-to-pay (WTP) for nature conservation in the three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands, Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius.
Study findings present, inter alia: annual non-use value of the islands’ ecosystems, as well as ecosystem values for local culture and recreation, livestock and tourism. The results appear in a series of reports and policy briefs for the individual islands and Caribbean Netherlands as a whole, titled ‘The Non-Use Value of Nature in the Netherlands and the Caribbean Netherlands,’ ‘The Value of Citizens in the Netherlands for Nature in the Caribbean,’ ‘Benefits of Valuing Nature for the Caribbean Netherlands’ and ‘The Value of Nature in the Caribbean Netherlands.’
The series also presents recommendations for incorporating ecosystem valuation in policy-making through various tools, including the use of cost-benefit of analysis to demonstrate the economic feasibility of interventions and opportunities to allocate Dutch tax revenues to fill the gap between the willingness to pay for conservation and the current levels of support. [IUCN Press Release] [Publication: The Non-Use Value of Nature in the Netherlands and the Caribbean Netherlands] [Publication: The Value of Citizens in the Netherlands for Nature in the Caribbean] [Publication: Benefits of Valuing Nature for the Caribbean Netherlands] [Publication: The Value of Nature in the Caribbean Netherlands]