Abstract
The benefits of marine litter reduction to society, which are mostly non-market ones, need to be valued and quantified in monetary terms to be included in cost benefit analyses required by the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. This article investigates the extent to which these benefits can be derived from existing studies. We review the available empirical evidence and analyze its key characteristics based on descriptive statistics. Comparing the availability of estimates with the requirements for the EU Member States, we find a striking mismatch between the data available and the information required, which cannot be alleviated by benefit transfer. This finding is valid for both, ex-ante and ex-post, evaluation attempts. We conclude that the evidence available at present is too patchy to derive country-wide policy implications to the extent necessary to comprehensively conduct the evaluations required by the Directive.
Highlights
Marine litter, defined as any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment, is a serious threat to the marine environment and human-well-being (e.g., Cheshire et al, 2009). This has led to a number of initiatives on various levels, most prominently on the level of the European Union (EU)
We find that seven studies provide willingness to pay (WTP) estimates for eight of the 23 Member States (Bulgaria, Greece, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, and UK)
We have compared the availability of estimates for the benefits of marine litter reduction with the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) for the EU Member States
Summary
The benefits of marine litter reduction to society, which are mostly non-market ones, need to be valued and quantified in monetary terms to be included in cost benefit analyses required by the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Comparing the availability of estimates with the requirements for the EU Member States, we find a striking mismatch between the data available and the information required, which cannot be alleviated by benefit transfer. This finding is valid for both, ex-ante and ex-post, evaluation attempts.
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