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7.3 Marine ecosystem service valuation application: UK
marine protected areas
There is a paucity of potential case studies that are specifically marine focused and show
the application of the ecosystem approach using economic valuation. The case study presen-
ted in this section meets these requirements, and moreover, the outcomes of the valuation
of changes in ecosystem services provisioning have led to a tangible outcome, i.e. the UK
Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009).
PartoftheActisthedesignation ofanetworkofmarineprotectedareas,termedMarine
Conservation Zones (MCZs) in UK legislation. Part of the benefit assessment is reported in
Hussain et al . ( 2010 ) and McVittie and Moran ( 2010 ) . What is not set out in these papers is
the process of applying the ecosystem approach across marine ecology and economics dis-
ciplines, and linked to this the lessons learnt. Further, the methodology used has been mod-
ified and applied in a European Commission Framework Programme 7 project entitled 'Op-
tions for Delivering Ecosystem-based Marine Management' (ODEMM: see www.liv.ac.uk/
odemm/) , and these modifications are discussed herein.
The objective of this section is not merely to set out the specifics of the MCZ analysis
and the methodological development therein, but to allow a platform for a more wide-ran-
ging discussion of the EBA and how any appraisal of management measures for marine eco-
systems might be framed to assess economic efficiency. The discussion as to whether indeed
an economic efficiency assessment is appropriate and might become an impediment to soci-
ety making appropriate choices is discussed in Section 7.4 .
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