Climate Change and Marine Biodiversity

The costs of policy inaction

• Several studies have highlighted that the economic damage resulting from future climate change will be much higher than the costs for current climate change mitigation and adaptation actions.
• Although it is extremely difficult to present exact economic numbers on the costs of inaction, they will be substantial.
• Many reports outline the value that ocean economic activities (e.g. tourism and recreation, transportation, living and mineral resource extractions; CI 2008) contribute to both national economies and foreign exchange receipts, government tax revenues and employment(OECD 2008, Emerton & Pabon-Zamora 2009).
• Avoiding the future costs of inaction projected in business-as-usual scenarios and investing in mitigation and adaptation actions brings other benefits.
• The advantages of reducing coastal habitat destruction include protection of biodiversity, livelihoods security for local and indigenous people, research and development possibilities and coastal protection from extreme weather events.
  

The need for ecosystem valuation

• The valuation of current activities directly contributing to the ocean economy only reflects part of the economic picture.
• Some values, such as shoreline protection, recreation, and aesthetics, are less tangible in monetary terms.
• Despite the role of coastal and marine ecosystems in supporting economic development and social welfare, particularly in developing countries, current analysis of market activity does not consider all of these contributing factors (Kildow et al. 2009).
• Economic valuation is playing an important role for policy makers, private corporations and international institutions that undertake investments in sustainable management, conservation and protection of ecosystem services (Evans 2009).
• When financing and implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, it is important to understand and demonstrate the dependence of world economies on healthy ecosystems, both in terms of their market and non-market values, and what is at risk if those ecosystems continue to degrade or are lost permanently.
• Investments in the management, conservation and protection of ecosystems and their services will not only help to build social resilience to climate change but will provide vast development returns by reducing poverty, strengthening livelihoods and supporting sustainable economic growth.