Post by LSDeep on Aug 10, 2005 22:10:24 GMT -5
By Katie Worth
Pacific Daily News
kworth@guampdn.com
Though most Guam residents would say the island's colorful reefs are precious beyond value, economists have pegged their worth at close to $150 million a year.
That information would come in handy if, say, an oil tanker grounded in Tumon and wiped out the entire reef. The island now has a price tag for which it can hold the tanker company responsible, said professor Barry Smith, director of the University of Guam Marine Lab.
The figure also should come in handy for policy-makers, who can use it to decide whether to put more money into protecting the reef, he said.
A group of economists and other specialists were hired to do the evaluation last year, he said. They considered the reef's value to the island's tourism market, culture, fisheries, seashore protection, water sports and property values.
Not surprisingly, the most value the reef has is in its relationship to tourism. The reefs add $102 million to the island's tourism economy, the study found.
Evaluating the worth of a natural resource is becoming increasingly common, Smith said. Hawaii's reefs, which have much higher usage than Guam's, were recently valued at $300 million, he said.
"This is important to do because the reefs are our livelihood," Smith said. "We'd like to think that our policy-makers base some of their decisions on the economic value of our marine resources."
About 400 residents were randomly surveyed about their uses of the reef and the value they put on it.
Grace Garces, a member of the surveying team, said the people polled were surprisingly well informed about the health of the reef, down to particulars such as sedimentation, sewage contamination and which beaches are most polluted.
Many felt that the reef was invaluable.
"We live on an island and we tend to take it for granted that our reefs will always be there," Garces said. "But by placing an economic value on the reefs, that opens up policy-makers' eyes to make decisions that protect this resource.
"The bottom line," she said, "is that money talks."
Originally published August 11, 2005
Pacific Daily News
kworth@guampdn.com
Though most Guam residents would say the island's colorful reefs are precious beyond value, economists have pegged their worth at close to $150 million a year.
That information would come in handy if, say, an oil tanker grounded in Tumon and wiped out the entire reef. The island now has a price tag for which it can hold the tanker company responsible, said professor Barry Smith, director of the University of Guam Marine Lab.
The figure also should come in handy for policy-makers, who can use it to decide whether to put more money into protecting the reef, he said.
A group of economists and other specialists were hired to do the evaluation last year, he said. They considered the reef's value to the island's tourism market, culture, fisheries, seashore protection, water sports and property values.
Not surprisingly, the most value the reef has is in its relationship to tourism. The reefs add $102 million to the island's tourism economy, the study found.
Evaluating the worth of a natural resource is becoming increasingly common, Smith said. Hawaii's reefs, which have much higher usage than Guam's, were recently valued at $300 million, he said.
"This is important to do because the reefs are our livelihood," Smith said. "We'd like to think that our policy-makers base some of their decisions on the economic value of our marine resources."
About 400 residents were randomly surveyed about their uses of the reef and the value they put on it.
Grace Garces, a member of the surveying team, said the people polled were surprisingly well informed about the health of the reef, down to particulars such as sedimentation, sewage contamination and which beaches are most polluted.
Many felt that the reef was invaluable.
"We live on an island and we tend to take it for granted that our reefs will always be there," Garces said. "But by placing an economic value on the reefs, that opens up policy-makers' eyes to make decisions that protect this resource.
"The bottom line," she said, "is that money talks."
Originally published August 11, 2005