Evaluation of marine spatial resources and its application to the establishment marine usage charge: case study of Xiamen, China

摘要

While marine environmental destruction and marine resource over-consumption are urgent challenges facing us today, the value of marine spatial resources continues to be overlooked and undervalued. We have begun to reach the limits of the oceans and must now begin to utilize and govern them in a more sustainable way. Imposing usage charges in sectors that utilize marine areas for production or for waste disposal would be an efficient economic instrument to discourage waste, optimize distribution, promote conservation and provide funds to improve sea areas health. The essential task for establishing the usage charges for marine spaces is to estimate the value of marine areas. In this study, two operative models are developed to assess the value of marine spaces and the models are applied in order to evaluate the price of different types of marine spatial functions in Xiamen. This study could help decision makers to improve management of sea spatial resources. The principles for establishing the usage charges for marine spaces are also discussed.