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ISSN:2325-6192 (print)
ISSN:2325-6206 (online)
Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management
António Mendes Lopes (editor), Jiazhong Zhang(editor)
António Mendes Lopes (editor)

University of Porto, Portugal

Email: aml@fe.up.pt

Jiazhong Zhang (editor)

School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710049, China

Fax: +86 29 82668723 Email: jzzhang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

Bringing out the Hidden Value of Marine Ecosystem Services in X`{a}bia (Spain): An Economic Valuation via Multicriteria Analysis

Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management 12(3) (2024) 263--284 | DOI:10.5890/JEAM.2024.09.004

Ana M. G\'{o}mez-Aguayo$^{1}$, Vicente Estruch-Guitart$^{2}$, Francisco Torner-Orellana$^{3}$, M. J. Ferrando$^{3}$

$^{1}$ INGENIO (CSIC-Universitat Polit`{e}cnica de Val`{e}ncia), Camino de Vera s/n, E-46022 Valencia, Spain

$^{2}$ Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Universitat Polit`{e}cnica de Val`{e}ncia, Valencia, Spain

$^{3}$ Oceanogr`{a}fic Foundation, Carrer d'Eduardo Primo Y'ufera, 1, E-46013 Valencia, Spain

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Abstract

The current threats and deterioration of the coastal marine ecosystem require the scientific dissemination of their natural values in order to achieve immediate action by policy makers. The western marine areas of the Mediterranean present habitats that are unknown to most stakeholders, and their contribution to the well-being is difficult to identify. Thus, we have proposed an estimation of the economic value of the Ecosystem Services (ESs) in the marine coastal strip of X\`{a}bia, north of Alicante, Spain. We conducted 14 face-to-face structured interviews with local experts with backgrounds in marine areas. We used the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to identify essential ESs in the mapped area. Participants identified as relevant a set of seven ESs (seafood, habitat services, climate regulation, waste treatment, biological control, recreation, and knowledge development). Using the Discounted Cash Flow method, we obtained the monetary value of each ESs. Our results reveal that one-third of the total value of the ecosystem corresponds to habitat services (e.g., life cycle maintenance, gene pool protection), whose major contribution is supporting waste treatment and biological control functions of the ecosystem. Our findings will provide useful information for marine management decisions and could enhance territorial conservation policies.

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