Distribution of Ecosystem Service Benefits: An Initial Look
Natural resource economics remains a powerful tool in both effective marine policy design and public advocacy. While total economic valuations now have a strong legal, policy, and cultural history in the United States, globally much work remains in understanding benefit allocation (NOAA 2013; Edgar et al. 2014). Where do the benefits of nature go? Generally, economists explain that this value goes to the public equally (Martín-López, Montes, and Benayas 2008). However, given certain inherent social inequalities, in reality, certain benefits go to certain groups or institutions first and only reach other sectors later. In my previous article, I shared initial results of the total economic value (TEV) of the Kenting National Park marine area. For an explanation of those methods, please refer to that article. This time, I propose an experimental methodology to map out the potential benefits of an ecosystem so we can better design marine resource policies to benefit the entire community. Scope Covering most of the Hengchun peninsula, the Kenting National Park (KNP) represents a logical scope. However, given the importance of KNP for Taiwan, we must take into account the entire island in terms of benefits distributions. The benefits of these corals extend far
