Narragansett Bay Watershed
Our natural systems provide myriad goods and services, but we often don’t think about exactly how valuable those goods and services are to our economy and society.
We instinctively recognize cleaner water to play in, better
Narragansett Bay Watershed
Our natural systems provide myriad goods and services, but we often don’t think about exactly how valuable those goods and services are to our economy and society.
We instinctively recognize cleaner water to play in, better fishing, and less flooding as contributions to well-being. Yet one challenge embedded in valuing the benefits from our natural systems is putting a price on these benefits—while some benefits are
When we don’t understand the values of the benefits of natural systems, we give them a de facto value of zero because we simply leave them out of the equation.
Rhode Island is a small state if evaluated by square miles or population, yet not if measured by natural assets. One perfect illustration is the Narragansett Bay watershed, a vibrant ecological system that provides many benefits to the surrounding communities and their residents and visitors alike.
Ecologists and economists frequently use the term “ecosystem services” to refer to the benefits that natural systems provide; this definition, at its core, links the underlying ecological processes of nature with economic and social well-being. These benefits include
For instance, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, saltwater recreational fishing contributes $300 million to the state’s economy. Other non-market benefits are harder to value and require further study to understand the implications of management decisions.
At the same time, estuaries (like other natural systems) around the country face ongoing stressors—namely increased populations, associated development pressure, and complications from a changing climate. Community well-being is directly tied to the health of natural systems, and a feedback loop exists where increased pressure on these natural systems may decrease the very thing that communities value in the first place.
We’ve witnessed these phenomena up and down the East Coast as excess nutrients, such as nitrogen from wastewater, have wreaked havoc on our coastal systems, decreasing home values and collapsing once-thriving fisheries from Cape Cod to Long Island.
This calls for thoughtful decision making and policy that account for economic trade-offs. For example, when policymakers recognize that economic gains from additional coastal development may be offset by economic losses from decreased fishery revenues, they may choose to limit or prohibit that development or require compensation for fishermen.
It is important for us to understand these impacts in Rhode Island. There are a number of large-scale and national studies that evaluate the importance of ecosystem services, but it is important to undertake ongoing local research. For instance, when purchasing a house, buyers look at comparable homes with similar characteristics in the same neighborhood that would influence the offer price.
If you are looking to buy a home in Rhode Island, you ar