@article {486,
	title = {Economic values of protected areas: Guidelines for protected area managers},
	year = {1998},
	edition = {IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK.},
	address = {Gland},
	abstract = {<p>Protected areas contain some of the world{\textquoteright}s most beautiful scenery and  outstanding natural and cultural landscapes. These feature wildernesses,  mountains and volcanoes, rain forests, untouched crystal-clear marine  waters, white sandy beaches and unique cultural sites - to mention but a  few.The natural and near-natural features of protected areas offer  attractions which in many countries have become the cornerstone of  tourism and recreation. However promoting tourism for the economy is not  the primary role of most protected areas. Their primary role is the  conservation of species biodiversity, and provision of a rich natural  resource which permits scientists, educators and the community at large  to meettheir various needs. Generally speaking, however, the market  alone does not support a system of protected areas - hence society,  through its various levels of government, must provide environmental  protection as a public service in the same manner that it provides  health, education, defence and legal systems. Failure to provide these  public services impoverishes the quality of life for individuals and  indeed for entire nations.The debate over environmental protection is  often about the balance between leaving areas in their natural or  near-natural state, and developing and exploiting them. This choice is  fraught with tension - for example should a forest be left uncleared, or  logged and converted to agriculture? Should wetlands and mangroves be  left in their natural state or cleared and developed?These Guidelines  are intended to help answer such questions. Part I gives an overview of  how the economic values of protected areas can be assessed, provide  newinsights and inform the debate. The case studies in Part II identify  those sites where protecting the environment has made a significant  contribution to the economy - increasing national wealth, national  incomes and levels of national economic output. Public policy has a  broad focus on the welfare of the community, and much work hasbeen done  by economists systematising the evaluation of welfare benefits  from  protected areas. The current political process largely focuses, however,  on the economy and monetary returns. It is hoped that the awareness  developed through these Guidelines can help to place environmental  protection issues nearer the centre of the economic policy argument.The  Guidelines reveal that protected areas are often significant  revenue-earning entities and can make an important contribution to local  economies. For instance recent studies indicate that Canada is expected  to create $C6.5 billion dollars in annual Gross Domestic Product from  the expenditure of participants in wildlife-related activities; this  sustains 159,000 jobs and creates $C2.5 billion in tax revenue each  year. Australiareceives over $A2 billion in expenditure from eight  national parks - at a direct cost to Governments of some $A60 million.  In Costa Rica, about $US12 million is spent annually to maintain the  national parks but foreign exchange generated in 1991 was more than  $US330 million with 500,000 overseas visitors; park-generated tourism is  the second largest industry in the country.Numerous other examples  abound. In Tanzania, poaching and uncontrolled hunting of elephants to  the south-east of Tarangire National Park led to an increase in woody  plants within the park, causing in turn an increase in tsetse flies and  hence livestock losses; conservation of elephants would have enhanced  the productivity of the livestock industry. Zaire (now Democratic  Republic of Congo) receives 75\% of animalprotein from wild sources; 40\%  of the diet in Botswana comes from animal protein produced by wild  sources; firewood and dung provide 90\% of the energy needs in Tanzania,  Nepal and Malawi, and exceed 80\% in other countries. In Australia, water  production in the Upper Thompson dam in Victoria was found to be more  valuable than timber production from the same land. Tourism and fishing  are more economically valuable than logging in the Philippines. Fijian  mangroves are more valuable for firewood collection, fishing and sewage  disposal than when cleared as agricultural land. The destruction of US  coastal estuaries between 1954 and 1978 cost the US economy $200 million  in fish production on an annual basis. In Italy, the Abruzzo National  Park has been so popular that it has regenerated the economy of a poor  area that previously suffered from severe depopulation. In each of these  cases, the economy is demonstrably receiving a boost from the existence  of protected areas, wildlife and natural and near-natural  landscapes.There is a clear message from the above that investment in  protected areas can provide a significant benefit to national and local  economies. Far from being locked up and lost to local users, these areas  represent an opportunity for sustainable industries and for the  generation of financial returns. The concept of total economic value  (TEV) identifies the goods and services or \&quot;products\&quot; protected areas  offer and which aresuitable for capturing revenues for the protected  area. With proper management, the \&quot;product\&quot; on offer can be sold over  and over again without diminishing its value and revenues can be used to  maintain the protected area. Unlike extractive industries, the string  of returns can be maintained over a long period for the benefit of a  wide range of users and stakeholders. Managers need to prepare business  plans for parks and reservesso as to assess and capture these potential  benefits, and thus ensure the long-term financial sustainability of  protected areas in their care. Case studies reviewed in this report show  that the different approaches to valuation can lead to inconsistent  reporting of outcomes. The Guidelines therefore recommend a standardised  valuation methodology, based on the concept of TEV, which is described  in the text. The methodology provides sound guidance for those  unfamiliar with measuring costs and benefits. The adoption of a  standardised approach will reduce the incidence of impacts remaining  unvalued and unappreciated. Measuring the benefits of protected areas in  a standard way also enables comparisons and aggregations to be made of  studies in different parts of the world.</p>},
	keywords = {agriculture, biodiversity, conservation, Costa Rica, economic value, forest, management, policy, protected area, protection, sandy beach, tourism, wetland},
	author = {Economics Service Unit - IUCN and Task Force on Economic Benefits of Protected Areas of the WCPA - IUCN}
}
