Extended benefit-cost analysis of management alternatives: Pagbilao mangrove forest [Philippines]

The assessment of the preservation and other options for the 110.7 has. of protected mangrove forest in Pagbilao [Quezon Province, Philippines] involved considerable effort in data collection, valuation and modeling. The following goods were quantified and valued: fuel wood and charcoal, timber, nipa, on-site and off-site fish, cultured prawns, and finfish. Inferences were made on the importance of environmental goods and services, such as soil accretion, shore protection, biodiversity, and ecotourism. The valuation process made distinction between subsistence and commercial users and the institutional regimes for exploitation. Based on the valued foods and services alone, semi-intensive aquaculture was the preferred option. Preservation of the mangrove as an option did not show good results, as only fish capture was allowed and valued. Although biodiversity is considered crucial to the decision to preserve the forest, it proved impossible to put a monetary value on changes in biodiversity. This raises the question of the limitations of valuation. Is it possible to value irreversible effects, such as the loss of a way of life, loss of ecosystems, loss of species, loss of works of arts, among others. Another crucial issue in the case of Pagbilao is the distribution of benefits and costs. The income from the fishponds goes to distant investors. Also, conversion to fishponds creates areas that cannot be accessed by the local population. The equity issue cannot be addressed adequately using cost-benefit analysis. Multicriteria analysis is recommended to supplement cost-benefit analysis. This was done in Janssen and Padilla (1997b), which was able to include equity in addition to efficiency and environmental objectives. Despite the intensive effort in data collection and modeling, results have to be used with care. This holds especially for the results linked to off-site fisheries. Because time series were not available, it proved to be very difficult to establish a clear link between the size of the mangrove forest and the value of off-site fisheries. A production function approach was, therefore, not feasible. Further, most services could not be valued and so could only be included qualitatively. With respect to the multicriteria analysis, the conflict between efficiency and equity could be reduced by changes in ownership arrangements or by adequate mechanisms to transfer costs and benefits among income groups. Research on potential and limitations of existing transfer mechanisms and research on development of new mechanisms is therefore important