Eco-Economic Services of Marine Ecosystems: Implications for Restoration and Sustainable Management
Eco-economics is a cross-disciplinary approach which has developed because of clashes between ecological and economic approaches in business which are mutually exclusive (ISEE, 2001). Professor Mitsuhei Murata, Former Ambassador of Japan, believes that Eco-economics constitutes the shift from control of natural resources by big business, technology and bureaucrats, thinking only in terms of profits, to control by the average citizen, by philosophy and respect for the environment (Civil Society, 2002). He believes that natural resources should not be considered merely as an income source. They should be regarded as capital, and as such, should be protected. Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, quotes Oystein Dahle of the Exxon as saying, "Socialism collapsed because it did not allow prices to reflect the economic costs. Capitalism may collapse because it does not allow prices to reflect the ecological costs."
In terms of marine ecosystems, overfishing of one species can have dramatic effects on other species in the same ecosystem, and land-based activities such as deforestation can affect ecosystems closer to shore (World Resources, 1996). Marine biodiversity needs to be maintained and protected, both coastally and in international waters. This means not only putting limits on fishing, but also developing better antipollution controls such as waste treatment, recycling in the farming industry, and the use of biodegradable products to protect coastal waters. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has been encouraging the setting up and management of marine protected areas (MPAs) since 1986. A 1995 study by the IUCN, World Bank and Great Barrier Reef Park Authority assessed existing MPAs and identified 81 existing and proposed MPA sites, which they regarded as priority areas in need of protection.
Many co...