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Valuing Coastal Systems

  • Conference paper
Managing European Coasts

Part of the book series: Environmental Science ((ENVSCIENCE))

Abstract

Integrated coastal zone management involves an assessment of development needs and economic inequality, pressures from population growth and mass tourism as well as social and cultural conflicts. In this context, economic valuation of coastal functions that provide goods and services is an important tool. Its applications and caveats are reviewed. Published value estimates range widely (i.e. 0.05–200,000 US$ ha−1 y−1) depending on function valued, method used and local welfare (f.x. expressed as GDP). An argument is made that, despite this variation and despite imperfect knowledge of ecosystem complexity, societal preferences or the ’real value’ of nature, decisions on coastal development will be made and thus be helped best by the rational provision of scientific knowledge, from both natural sciences and socio-economics. A mixed methodological approach is therefore suggested to be most useful in practical, and multidisciplinary, situations. Three cases are presented of European valuation exercises at different spatial scales on the coast.

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Authors
  1. Mihalis S. Skourtos
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  2. Areti D. Kontogianni
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  3. Stavros Georgiou
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  4. R. Kerry Turner
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Jan Vermaat , Wim Salomons  & Laurens Bouwer ,  & 

  2. CSERGE, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich UK, NR4 7TJ, UK

    Kerry Turner

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© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Skourtos, M.S., Kontogianni, A.D., Georgiou, S., Turner, R.K. (2005). Valuing Coastal Systems. In: Vermaat, J., Salomons, W., Bouwer, L., Turner, K. (eds) Managing European Coasts. Environmental Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27150-3_6

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