Wetlands are priceless
The first comprehensive report on the economic value of wetlands warns that resources and services amounting to us $70 billion per year will be in danger if the world’s swamps and marshes are not managed in a sustainable manner. “This figure is important, as wetlands are often perceived to have little or no economic value compared to land-use activities that yield more visible and immediate benefits,” says Kirsten Schuyt, a resource economist of wwf International and the co-author of the report. “Only an economic valuation can prove the worth of the swamps, as it takes into consideration not just the value of obtaining tangible resources but also services such as the role in minimising damage due to storms,” explains Brij Gopal, a professor at the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
The wwf researchers analysed 89 economic valuation studies, and a database of wetlands covering 0.63 million square kilometres to arrive at a conservative estimate of us $3.4 billion as the annual economic value. The figure was then used to extrapolate the us $70 billion value of the global wetland area of 12.8 million square kilometres.
According to the report, ‘The Economic Values of the World’s Wetlands’, flood control, storm buffering, fishing, tourism and water filtering are amongst the most valued functions of the wetlands. Their least valuable role is providing food, timber and fuel wood. Asian wetlands have the highest economic value at us $1.8 billion per year