- James Spurgeon is an environmental economics consultant working through Sustain Value, a uK based consultancy firm. H... moreJames Spurgeon is an environmental economics consultant working through Sustain Value, a uK based consultancy firm. He specialises in valuing environmental and social impacts (i.e. natural and social capital), in particular for businesses. He has considerable expertise in applied economic valuation and impact assessments around water, biodiversity, protected areas, coral reefs, ecosystem services etc. around the world.edit
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Summary: Biodiversity and ecosystem services loss is a major global issue of increasing significance to the public, politicians and businesses. A key contributory solution, as advocated by the UN Convention of Biological Diversity and... more
Summary: Biodiversity and ecosystem services loss is a major global issue of increasing significance to the public, politicians and businesses. A key contributory solution, as advocated by the UN Convention of Biological Diversity and Millenium Ecosystem Assessment is to change the way people and businesses behave towards the environment through introducing economic incentives for biodiversity and ecosystem services (EIBs). These EIBs begin to reflect the true value of the environment, and are now being adopted worldwide with significant implications for businesses. This is the second article in a series of four with the overall objective of exploring the literature relevant to the extent to which the development of economic incentives for biodiversity is likely to be an opportunity or risk for extractive and water companies over the next five to10 years. The first article began the investigation by outlining the links between business and biodiversity. This second article explains ...
Research Interests:
Biodiversity loss is a major global issue of increasing significance to the public, politicians and businesses. A key contributory solution, as advocated by the UN Convention of Biological Diversity and Millenium Ecosystem Assessment is... more
Biodiversity loss is a major global issue of increasing significance to the public, politicians and businesses. A key contributory solution, as advocated by the UN Convention of Biological Diversity and Millenium Ecosystem Assessment is to change the way people and businesses behave towards the environment through introducing “economic incentives for biodiversity” (EIBs). These EIBs begin to reflect the true value of the environment, and are now being adopted worldwide with significant implications for businesses. The overall objective of this series of four articles is to explore the literature relevant to the extent to which the development of economic incentives for biodiversity is likely to be an opportunity or risk for extractive and water companies over the next five to 10 years. The first article began the investigation by outlining the links between business and biodiversity. The second article explained what economic incentives for biodiversity are.This brief third article ...
Research Interests:
Biodiversity loss is a major global issue of increasing significance to the public, politicians and businesses. A key contributory solution, as advocated by the UN Convention of Biological Diversity and Millenium Ecosystem Assessment is... more
Biodiversity loss is a major global issue of increasing significance to the public, politicians and businesses. A key contributory solution, as advocated by the UN Convention of Biological Diversity and Millenium Ecosystem Assessment is to change the way people and businesses behave towards the environment through introducing “economic incentives for biodiversity” (EIBs). These EIBs begin to reflect the true value of the environment, and are now being adopted worldwide with significant implications for businesses. The overall objective of this series of four articles is to explore the literature relevant to the extent to which the development of economic incentives for biodiversity is likely to be an opportunity or risk for extractive and water companies over the next five to 10 years. The first article began the investigation by outlining the links between business and biodiversity. The second article explained what economic incentives for biodiversity are. The third article indica...
Research Interests:
CITATION UNEP (2007) Deep-Sea Biodiversity and Ecosystems: A scoping report on their socio-economy, management and governance. DISCLAIMER The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNEP or contributory... more
CITATION UNEP (2007) Deep-Sea Biodiversity and Ecosystems: A scoping report on their socio-economy, management and governance. DISCLAIMER The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNEP or contributory organizations. The designations employed and the presentations do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP or contributory organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area and its authority, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. and Phil Weaver for their insightful comments on earlier versions of this report. Thanks also for the additional comments provided by UNEP Reginal Seas Programme Focal Points, and to all individuals and institutions who gave permission to use their pictures. Special thanks to Vikki Gunn and Angela Benn for their input and support and to Stefan Hain from UNEP for his significant input, dedication and immense enthusiasm. Any error or inco...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
An ecosystem services (ES) approach to managing marine and coastal resources has increasingly emerged as a core requirement of ecosystem-based management (EBM). However, little practical guidance exists to help structure and implement... more
An ecosystem services (ES) approach to managing marine and coastal resources has increasingly emerged as a core requirement of ecosystem-based management (EBM). However, little practical guidance exists to help structure and implement such an approach. This paper outlines the linkages between ecosystems, ES and EBM in a practical framework that could be applied to marine environmental management. Using the northwestern, deepwater Gulf of Mexico as a case study, a three-stage approach was devised: (1) prioritizing relevant ES according to perceived financial and societal value and level of stress, (2) assessing the effectiveness of a wide range of indicators of ES health, and (3) ranking indicators to identify those whose monitoring would be most effective in tracking ES health. The first stage of this approach identified food provision, recreational fishing, and the non-use ethical value derived from the presence of iconic species as the highest-priority ES in the case study region....
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Geography, Environmental Management, Rivers, Multidisciplinary, England, and 14 moreHumans, Contingent valuation, Attitude, Stream, Taxes, Questionnaires, Ecosystem, Willingness to Pay, Cost Benefit Analysis, Consumer Participation, Distance Decay, Conservation of Natural Resources, Water Movements, and Environmental
Research Interests:
An ecosystem services (ES) approach to managing marine and coastal resources has increasingly emerged as a core requirement of ecosystem-based management (EBM). However, little practical guidance exists to help structure and implement... more
An ecosystem services (ES) approach to managing marine and coastal resources has increasingly emerged as a core requirement of ecosystem-based management (EBM). However, little practical guidance exists to help structure and implement such an approach. This paper outlines the linkages between ecosystems, ES and EBM in a practical framework that could be applied to marine environmental management. Using the northwestern, deepwater Gulf of Mexico as a case study, a three-stage approach was devised: (1) prioritizing relevant ES according to perceived financial and societal value and level of stress, (2) assessing the effectiveness of a wide range of indicators of ES health, and (3) ranking indicators to identify those whose monitoring would be most effective in tracking ES health. The first stage of this approach identified food provision, recreational fishing, and the non-use ethical value derived from the presence of iconic species as the highest-priority ES in the case study region. The second and third stages suggested four indicators as having the highest priority for supporting key ES: (1) levels of selected chemical compounds in key species of fish, (2) marine sound, (3) concentration of chlorophyll-a as a proxy for phytoplankton, and (4) economic and ecological values added by artificial structures. Results of this study will be helpful in prioritizing the allocation of resources for marine environmental monitoring. The approach described here will also be applicable, with appropriate adaptations, to ES analysis in other environmental settings.
Research Interests:
This paper provides a brief overview of the economic costs and benefits of coral reef restoration and considers the potential application of benefit-cost analysis. Three coral restoration case studies indicate that restoration costs can... more
This paper provides a brief overview of the economic costs and benefits of coral reef restoration and considers the potential application of benefit-cost analysis. Three coral restoration case studies indicate that restoration costs can vary enormously, from around US$10,000 ha-1 to US$5 million ha-1. A brief review of the economic benefits of coral reefs based on a 'total economic value' approach (i.e., accounting for direct and indirect uses, and 'non-uses'), reveals that potentially many thousands of US$ per hectare could accrue from reef restoration. Various parameters are identified which dictate the value of coral benefits, and those factors that can be manipulated through restoration to enhance coral benefits are highlighted. The paper concludes with a number of recommendations. There is scope for greater application of a 'benefit-cost analysis' framework to assess the justification for restoring coral reefs and to improve the overall effectiveness of such initiatives.