Alfredo Arellano Guillermo

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Coral Reefs and Sustainable Development
ITMEMS III Cozumel, México

• Alfredo Arellano Guillermo
• Gerardo Ríos Saís

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• Issues for an economy of biodiversity and
  protected areas.
• Protected areas as a public wealth.
• Reef Management. public vs. private wealth

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Coral reef economic value

• Biological complexity
• Diffuseness of the negative externalities
• Extinction irreversibility .

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PROTECTED AREAS AND PUBLIC WEALTH

• In a formal economy, the presence of biological
  diversity of a coral reef should be under the
  public wealth.
• To maintain this public wealth, it is important
  to protect areas, as big as necessary of critical
  habitat to ensure the genetic viability of their
  populations, and avoid a possible endogamy, this
  mean, the reproduction between members of a same
  family.
• By this way, biodiversity, is not a public
  wealth per se, however Parks and Reserves, as big
  as necessary that allow the continuous evolution
  of the present species.
• (Whitmore, 1990 Therborg, 1992,)

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PUBLIC vs. PRIVATE WEALTH

• If we conceive coral reefs as productive
  units and providers of an environmental services,
  we will find that they face impressive
  limitations and critical disadvantages against
  traditional ways of production.
• Public and private interest one against other.
  Where conservation benefits are mainly
  collective, meanwhile under private property
  scheme, this benefits are for few people.
• Conservation benefits are only understood in
  long term view. This condition will affect their
  positive incentives.
• In traditional economic scheme, degradation costs
  are understood as negative externalities.
• This facts are showing a trend to natural net
  value destruction and is generating management
  and conservation challenges, and also generating
  social and political conflicts.

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Coral reefs value?

• Numbers without a meaning?, because it is
  impossible to have price to all species?
• To renounce to valuate coral reefs is equivalent
  to said that all the wealth and services have no
  cost?

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Biodiversity values

• Direct use values
• Indirect use values (environmental services),
  research values, (applied to natural resources
  management, biomedical uses, environmental
  monitoring) academic, educational and landscape
  values .
• Other values (Option value, Existence value,
  Heritage value)

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Public wealth generated by coral reefs and
coastal and marine ecosystems

• Habitat for species of flora and fauna
• Regulation of the atmosphere chemistry
  composition
• Climate regulation
• Coastal Protection
• Biomass and nutrients generation for productive
  activities (fisheries, forestry, others)
• Biological diversity and genetic heritage
  conservation
• Productive functions in terms of natural primary
  resources.
• Tourism and recreation.
• Fields for scientific and technological research.

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Environmental Degradation Cost in Mexico

• Annual Cost of Natural Resources Depletion and
  Environmental Degradation US 38,449.2
  millions, it means 10.6 of the Gross Domestic
  Product

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Coastal and Oceanic Priority Areas of México
 

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Protected Areas
 
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Protected Areas in México
158 Protected Areas Total surface up to 20
millions ha. 77 Terrestrial Ecosystems 23
Marine Ecosystems in 27 Marine Protected Areas
 
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Sustainable tourism?

• Use of coral reefs in the Mexican Caribbean
• Annual sales estimated for tourism trips
• US 200 million

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TOURISM REGIONAL CONTEXT Tourism on the Region
Tourism on Protected Areas
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 Article. Located on Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula,
Ascencion Bay is known as the grand slam capital
of the world. Encompassed within the Sian Kaan
Biosphere reserve, Ascencion Bay is an area of
outstanding beauty with a diverse and unique
range of flora and fauna. It is hard not to be
taken in by the birdlife ospreys wheal overhead,
teal spring out of the mangroves and everywhere
are spoonbills and waders.   Vast bays, hidden
lagoons rimmed with mangroves and an immense
expanse of flats make Ascencion Bay an isolated
world of turquoise shallows offering some of the
very best fishing.   Although not as big as
those in Cuba there are excellent numbers of
bonefish. Schools of them cruise across the sand
and through the turtle grass. Most are between
2lb-6lb but more wary singles of up to 10lbs can
be found. Tarpon are found in the lagoons
although not numerous, sufficient numbers offer
the chance of a grand slam.   The possibility
of hooking a permit is the reason so many choose
to fish Ascencion Bay. It is not unreasonable to
see thirty permit in a single day with their
familiar sickle shaped fins piercing the surface.
The permit remains one of the most elusive and
fickle fish to catch on a fly. Weighing from
5lbs-40lbs, the Ascencion Bay permit are present
all year but the spring and early summer months
see them at their greatest concentrations on the
flats.   Ascencion Bay is easy to access from
USA and Europe via Cancun where one can drive to
lodges on the north side of the bay, or fly by
lodge charter to those on the south side. 
LODGES IN MEXICO Playa Blanca Seclusion Casa
Blanca PRICE GUIDESeason from  November -
July   Prices from  2400 - 3200 per person
per week.   Prices exclude airfare and
overnight accommodation en route. 
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Conclusions

• It is urgent to assume coral reefs as strategic
  and productive units, generators of a flow of
  social and heritage benefits, that must be
  recognized and valorized. Maintenance of this
  benefits implies a high costs of investment and
  operation.
• 2. Natural net value must be guaranteed, as it
  would be a creation of mankind. A source of
  income for it conservation should be from user
  fee payment or environmental services that they
  provide.
• Property rights recognized and public benefit
  assignations, must be direct sources of benefit
  to local communities, mainly for such resources
  of common use, that ensure sales and marketing
  products through social enterprises.
• 4. Externalities from environmental and social
  factors must be included in economic research.
• 5. Fare market searching that allow to assingn
  values to natural resources from sustainability
  perspective.