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7.4.2 General limitations and caution with respect to marine ecosystem valuation
This section focuses on two elements not fully covered in the discussion of the MCZ case
study and its limitations: (1) methodologies used to value ecosystem services; and (2) mar-
ine versus terrestrial valuations.
7.4.2.1 Primary valuation studies
As the case study has demonstrated, the approach used to value ecosystem services varies
on a service-by-service basis. The approach used in Hussain et al . ( 2010 ) used extant data
points with no new primary valuation study. This reliance on secondary data was in part
linked to the project scope (funding and timing constraints etc.), but also to the geographical
scope, as an analysis of marginal change in provisioning was required at a UK-wide level.
Notwithstanding theshifttowardsmanagement ataregional(andthereforetransnation-
al) scale in marine management internationally, the vast majority of marine and coastal eco-
system valuation literature refers to study sites at much smaller spatial scale, e.g. individual
strips of coastline and adjacent marine ecosystems. The most frequently applied methodo-
logies in such primary valuation studies fall under the category of 'stated preference tech-
niques', wherein the respondent's willingness to pay (WTP) for a defined change in the nat-
ural environment (quality , access, or both) is elicited through a structured, survey-based
approach. The WTP is hypothetical in the sense that the respondent does not actually pay
and therein lies a significant potential for bias in survey results. As Fletcher ( 2012 ) notes,
one of the earliest publications in this field referred to the potential for respondents to be
'purchasing moral satisfaction' (Kahneman and Knetsch, 1992 ) , with individuals being po-
tentially motivated to over-represent their WTP owing to the 'warm glow' they receive from
the act of (theoretically) giving without actually doing so (Andreoni, 1989 ) . However, there
is a long history of applications in applying stated preference methods, at least for terrestrial
biomes.
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