Assessing economic values of coral reefs in the Pangkajene and Kepulauan Regency, Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia

Abstract

Coral reef ecosystems possess tangible and intangible economic benefits to human society that are still underestimated and not fully understood. This study aims: to determine 1) economic benefits and economic losses due to coral reef damage, 2) compensation values as replacement costs for damaged coral reefs as well as references to sustainable coral reef management. Based on the calculation, the TEV of coral reef ecosystems was estimated to be USD 11.96 billion or 2.82 million USD/ha. The economic losses due to coral reef destruction over the 20-year period from 1994 to 2014 were USD 1 billion or 50.18 million USD/yr. We anticipate that the economic loss of coral reefs will continue to rise due to the intensification of destructive fishing practices. Therefore, an effective management policy should be established to prevent further destruction of coral reefs in this area in the future. This study suggests that tangible procedures for compensation for coral damage and law enforcement for destroyers are required to be implemented to reduce the economic losses of coral reefs, and the economic values estimated in this study can be a quantitative reference for various stakeholders to build a concensus for designing coral reef recovery programs in the future.