13 Economics and Project Management in the Coastal Zone
145
13.3
Large-Scale Project Evaluation in the Coastal Zone
A diverse range of existing and planned projects covering, among others, energy extraction and supply, transport facilities and infrastructure, sea defence and coastal protection schemes, and tourism-related housing and recreation facilities are or will be
located at or near the coast. It does not seem possible to formulate a priori a comprehensive typology of such projects in terms of the magnitude and significance of their
environmental and socio-economic welfare impacts. The aggregate impact of such
projects is both context - and spatially specific. On the other hand, it is possible to
construct a general economic - ecological assessment methodology which is capllble
of providing guidance to coastal resource managers and policymakers.
Because policy decisions are required relating to a range of spatial and temporal
scales and different socio-economic and political levels, several broad assessment
categories (ignoring the time dimension for the moment) need to be distinguished
(Barbier 1993). It might be the case that a given existing project imposes a particular impact on an individual coastal resource or set of resources, e.g. heavy metal discharge from an industrial plant, oil spillage from platforms, storage facilities or during
transport, sewage disposal from urban areas. Thus, in this impact analysis category
a specific environmental impact is assessed via the valuation of the environmental state
changes in the coastal resource(s) connected to the impact. The valuation requires
an estimate of the consequent net coastal resources production and environmental
benefits effects. The total cost of the impact (Pc) in social welfare terms is the forgone
net benefits (NB fe ); so Pc = NB fe • The forgone net environmental benefits related to a
pollution impact, for example, can then be compared with a range of alternative pollution abatement options and their cost (product/process design modifications for
Table 13.3. Coastal environmental impacts and valuation methods. (Adapted from Turner and
Adgefl996)
Effects categories
Productivity
E.g. fisheries, agriculture, tourism, water
resources, industrial production, marine transport, storm buffering and coastal protection
Health
Amenity
Coastal ecosystems, wetlands, dunes, beaches,
etc., and some landscapes, including cultural
assets and structures
Existence values
Ecosystems; cultural assets
Valuation method options
Market valuation via prices or surrogates
Preventive expenditure
Replacement cost/shadow projects/costeffectiveness analysis
Defensive expenditure
Human capital or cost of illness
Contingent valuation
Preventive expenditure
Defensive expenditure
Contingent valuation/ranking
Travel cost method
Hedonic property method
Contingent valuation
145
13.3
Large-Scale Project Evaluation in the Coastal Zone
A diverse range of existing and planned projects covering, among others, energy extraction and supply, transport facilities and infrastructure, sea defence and coastal protection schemes, and tourism-related housing and recreation facilities are or will be
located at or near the coast. It does not seem possible to formulate a priori a comprehensive typology of such projects in terms of the magnitude and significance of their
environmental and socio-economic welfare impacts. The aggregate impact of such
projects is both context - and spatially specific. On the other hand, it is possible to
construct a general economic - ecological assessment methodology which is capllble
of providing guidance to coastal resource managers and policymakers.
Because policy decisions are required relating to a range of spatial and temporal
scales and different socio-economic and political levels, several broad assessment
categories (ignoring the time dimension for the moment) need to be distinguished
(Barbier 1993). It might be the case that a given existing project imposes a particular impact on an individual coastal resource or set of resources, e.g. heavy metal discharge from an industrial plant, oil spillage from platforms, storage facilities or during
transport, sewage disposal from urban areas. Thus, in this impact analysis category
a specific environmental impact is assessed via the valuation of the environmental state
changes in the coastal resource(s) connected to the impact. The valuation requires
an estimate of the consequent net coastal resources production and environmental
benefits effects. The total cost of the impact (Pc) in social welfare terms is the forgone
net benefits (NB fe ); so Pc = NB fe • The forgone net environmental benefits related to a
pollution impact, for example, can then be compared with a range of alternative pollution abatement options and their cost (product/process design modifications for
Table 13.3. Coastal environmental impacts and valuation methods. (Adapted from Turner and
Adgefl996)
Effects categories
Productivity
E.g. fisheries, agriculture, tourism, water
resources, industrial production, marine transport, storm buffering and coastal protection
Health
Amenity
Coastal ecosystems, wetlands, dunes, beaches,
etc., and some landscapes, including cultural
assets and structures
Existence values
Ecosystems; cultural assets
Valuation method options
Market valuation via prices or surrogates
Preventive expenditure
Replacement cost/shadow projects/costeffectiveness analysis
Defensive expenditure
Human capital or cost of illness
Contingent valuation
Preventive expenditure
Defensive expenditure
Contingent valuation/ranking
Travel cost method
Hedonic property method
Contingent valuation