The Gulbenkian Oceans Initiative (GOI) launched its first policy brief related to an interdisciplinary study with the purpose of determining the economic value of marine ecosystem services in Portugal. The research, carried out by CESAM at the University of Aveiro and NOVA School of Business and Economics, is expectd to produce policy-relevant scientific findings that contribute directly to the adoption of new policies, changes in existing ones, and management of marine ecosystems.

Research efforts are focused on the marine area between Peniche and Nazaré with the purpose of producing a textbook example of economic valuation of marine ecosystem services, and of how these contribute to improve decision-making processes and raise marine environmental awareness.

The lines of research adopted concern (i) the modelling of multiple and linked ecosystem processes and services in the context of decision-making, (ii) the consequences of changes in ecosystem service flows to human wellbeing, and (iii) the policy instruments that can be used to manage human impacts on those services equitably and efficiently.

This will contribute to improve current valuation methodologies, for example by looking into the ecosystem benefits which are indirectly linked to the economic system and for which market values are more difficult to determine. It will also investigate the mutual links between marine ecosystems and wellbeing, including the impacts that economic activities have on the ability of marine ecosystems to deliver their services.

The final results of the research project are expected in 2016. They will be useful for decision-makers, NGOs and businesses to improve their planning and regulatory decisions at the local, national and EU levels. Until then, preliminary results will be made available as policy briefs, that is, short documents that use a non-specialist language for a variety of stakeholders.

Read the project’s first policy brief here, where preliminary results on blue carbon sequestration, the giant wave off Nazaré and the sardine fishery are shown.

***

Our oceans strand of work is part of the wider Gulbenkian Oceans Initiative (GOI) launched by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon in 2013.

The GOI is concerned with the economic valuation of marine ecosystem services and centres on a specific pilot study in Portugal. It will also facilitate a range of initiatives to increase public understanding and promote policy action in Portugal and beyond.

https://vimeo.com/128870681

Valuing the Ocean: Gulbenkian Oceans Initiative from CGF UK on Vimeo.