Abstract/Summary

There is an increasing recognition that many ecosystem services provide multiple welfare benefits, which may not always be fully incorporated into decision making on resource use. In this thesis these welfare impacts are from the use and non-use values that the mangroves provide in Tobago. Mangroves are intertidal tree and shrub environments that fringe shorelines in the tropics and sub-tropics, providing essential benefits locally and globally. However, there is still insufficient understanding on the valuation of some benefits or non-market goods by decision-makers when being valued with a time sensitive payment vehicle or cost. This thesis contributes to the economic valuation of mangroves on the island and discusses the potential for increased environmental management through greater understanding of how different stakeholders, in particular the residents value mangroves. This was done using qualitative and quantitative research, in-depth interviews were carried out with 46 [36 pre-discrete choice experiment (DCE) and 10 post-DCE] participants, 2 focus groups and a DCE with 292 respondents. The Choice Models used the Hierarchical Bayesian approach and were modelled in Stan with a python interface. Choice uncertainty and socio-demographic factors were also included in the extended models. The results were generally the same and the respondents exhibited temporal insensitivity to the 5- and 25-year payment horizons used. In all models the mangrove cover removal for the tourism development attribute had the highest annual tax willingness-to-pay (WTP) across the attributes measured. In the merged 5- and 25-year model this was an annual WTP of $101.92 TT to avoid a 50% loss to mangrove cover and there was an extremely high status quo (SQ) avoidance at $212.07 TT. This suggests that residents of Tobago value the benefits the mangrove provide in relation to other uses such as hotel development in both the short and long-term. From the surveys with residents there is a general desire for increased economic development but not at the expense of mangrove removal and a loss to its ecosystem services. Recommendations were subsequently made with policy implications in the short and long-term. Also, the benefits from post DCE follow-up surveys were found to encourage a better understanding of the SQ aversion and respondent preferences. General recommendations are made for legislative amendments, a mangrove management plan or policy and the direction future economic development activities may take to achieve a balance in resource uses for tourism activities, economic development and mangrove conservation.