Institut du Développpement Durable et des Relations Internationales (Iddri), 41 rue du Four, 75006 Paris, France.
J Environ Manage. 2013 Feb 15;116:135-44. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.11.031. Epub 2013 Jan 5.
The economic valuation of coral reefs ecosystem services is currently seen as a promising approach to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable management of coral ecosystems to policymakers and to provide useful information for improved decisions. Most coral reefs economic studies have been conducted in the United States, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, and only a few have covered the South Pacific region. In this region, coral reefs are essential assets for small island developing states as well as for developed countries. Accordingly, a series of ecosystem services valuations has been carried out recently in the South Pacific, to try and supply decision-makers with new information. Applying ecosystem services valuation to the specific ecological, social, economic and cultural contexts of the South Pacific is however not straightforward. This paper analyses how extant valuations address the various management challenges of coral reef regions in general and more specifically for the South Pacific. Bearing in mind that economic valuation has to match policy-making contexts, we emphasize a series of specific considerations when conducting and applying ecosystem services valuation in South Pacific ecological and social contexts. Finally, the paper examines the decision-making situations in which extant valuations took place. We conclude that, although ecosystem valuations have been effectively used as a means to raise awareness with respect to coral reef conservation, methodologies will have to be further developed, with multidisciplinary inputs, if they are to provide valuable inputs in local and technical decision-making.
目前，对珊瑚礁生态系统服务的经济评估被视为向决策者展示可持续管理珊瑚生态系统的益处的一种有前途的方法，并为改进决策提供有用的信息。大多数珊瑚礁经济研究都在美国、东南亚和加勒比地区进行，只有少数涉及南太平洋地区。在该地区，珊瑚礁是小岛屿发展中国家和发达国家的重要资产。因此，最近在南太平洋地区进行了一系列生态系统服务评估，试图为决策者提供新的信息。然而，将生态系统服务评估应用于南太平洋的具体生态、社会、经济和文化背景并不简单。本文分析了现有的评估方法如何应对一般珊瑚礁地区以及更具体的南太平洋地区的各种管理挑战。考虑到经济评估必须符合决策制定的背景，我们强调了在南太平洋生态和社会背景下进行和应用生态系统服务评估时需要考虑的一系列具体问题。最后，本文考察了现有的评估所涉及的决策情况。我们的结论是，尽管生态系统评估已被有效地用作提高珊瑚礁保护意识的一种手段，但如果要为地方和技术决策提供有价值的投入，方法必须进一步发展，需要多学科的投入。
