Abstract

In addition to its direct impacts on marine ecology and biota, marine plastic debris can affect the delivery of ecosystem services, with resulting impacts on human well-being, society and the economy. It is important to quantify these impacts in economic terms, so as to be able to provide evidence-based support for an appropriate policy response. We review the South African literature on the impacts of marine plastic debris on ecosystem services and on the economy, in order to identify relevant knowledge gaps. The gaps are found to be significant. Some research has been conducted in terms of impacts relating to recreation, aesthetics and tourism and the costs of beach and harbour clean-ups. However, there is a significant lack of research regarding impacts on ecosystem services relating to fisheries and aquaculture, heritage, habitat provision, biodiversity, and nutrient cycles. There is also a significant lack of research regarding direct economic impacts on the transport/shipping and fisheries industries, indirect economic impacts (such as costs associated with health-related impacts), and non-market costs (e.g. impacts on scenic, cultural and spiritual values). More research is needed in South Africa to address these gaps, in order to inform policy aimed at addressing plastic waste and marine plastic debris.
 Significance:
 
 This review highlights the knowledge gaps in terms of the impacts of marine plastics on ecosystem services and on the economy in South Africa, which are important to understand in order to be able to direct funding for future research in this domain. Without better knowledge of the economic impacts of marine plastic debris, it is difficult to assess the costs of inaction, and therefore to inform an appropriate policy response for tackling the problem of marine plastic debris.

Highlights

  • The impacts of plastic debris on the marine environment have received increasing attention over the past decade

  • Jambeck et al.[1] estimated that between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic waste entered the ocean from land-based sources in 2010, and that flows of plastic waste to the marine environment are likely to increase significantly in the absence of improved management

  • We review the South African literature on the impacts of marine plastic debris on ecosystem services and on the economy, in order to be able to identify gaps

Read more

Summary

Introduction

The impacts of plastic debris on the marine environment have received increasing attention over the past decade. To the extent that marine plastic debris can affect the structure and functioning of ecosystems more broadly, the increasing volume of plastics in the ocean could potentially have negative impacts on the delivery of marine ecosystem services, and in turn, on human well-being, society and the economy. To the extent that marine plastic debris has a negative impact on marine habitats and biodiversity, fishing stocks for commercial and recreational fishers may be negatively affected, which in turn has a negative economic impact These negative impacts are referred to as externalities, that is, the side-effects of human activities which are not internalised in market prices. We review the South African literature on the impacts of marine plastic debris on ecosystem services and on the economy, in order to be able to identify gaps. The intention is to provide a framework against which to assess the current state of South African literature on each of these impacts, in order to identify gaps

Impacts on ecosystem services
Economic impacts
Direct economic costs
Current uncertainties
Evidence gaps
Findings
Impacts on the fisheries industry Health costs
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call