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and internationally relevant factors. This is com-
plicated by the fact that in addition to resources
such as water, i ber, and food, which may be
valued monetarily or via other means, wetlands
are multi-functional and provide habitats, cycle
nutrients, store carbon, protect against l ood
and storm destruction, and improve water
quality. Moreover, they are appreciated for their
aesthetic and intrinsic qualities. Quantifying and
assigning values to such a plethora of services
is a complex undertaking.
11.5.2 Property regimes and externalities
in wetland use and valuations
How wetlands are used, who uses them, and
what rules regulate their use depend on a
number of factors including the geographic and
socio-political context in which they are found.
Institutional economists and theorists examin-
ing property rights provide us with a starting
point to answer some of these questions (Ostrom
1990; Bromley 1991; Hanna and Munasinghe
1995). They suggest that formal property rights
institutions guide the use of resources, such as
wetlands, and generally rel ect the larger social
and environmental goals of a society. While
policy and management decisions play impor-
tant roles in wetland health, theorists argue that
wetlands with clearly established property
regimes stand the best chance of sustainable
use. Property regimes detail legal protections
accorded, specify resource rights and rules of
use, and clearly dei ne the monitoring and
enforcement mechanisms for misuse. Hanna,
Folke, and Maler (1995, p. 17) identii ed the four
broad property rights institutions or regimes
observed globally (Table 11-5). These are:
11.5.1 Why value wetlands?
Environmental economists have argued that
placing a value on environmental resources
ensures that decisions about their use, alloca-
tion, and management are made more judi-
ciously. Valuation requires the measurement and
monitoring of a resource to account for and
compare all of its costs and benei ts to society
and the ecosystem. In the case of wetlands,
studying these ecosystems enables us to under-
stand them more thoroughly, and monitoring
them allows for assessments of their current
status and how that may change over time.
Moreover, valuation also creates awareness of
the biophysical, economic, social, and cultural
benei ts of such ecosystems. It identii es stake-
holders, user groups, and those who may benei t
from wetland services and products, thereby
eliciting interest in wise and sustainable-use
practices (de Groot et al. 2006).
Valuations give decision makers the tools
with which to assess policy and manage-
ment alternatives. While traditional economic
approaches have used market-based techniques
to assign a value to environmental resources,
ecological and other socio-cultural approaches
provide techniques for non-market valuations as
well. Wetlands, like other natural resources,
serve multiple functions, provide multiple uses,
and engage multiple stakeholders. The failure to
value these resources appropriately may often
result in their degradation or overuse. Valuing
wetlands using integrated market and non-
market approaches could allow for a fuller
multidimensional appraisal of their contribu-
tions to the ecosystem and society.
Table 11-5.
Four categories of property rights and
their conditions.
Private property
• Individual or corporate ownership,
control & access
• May include some restrictions on
resource use based on prevailing
environmental laws
State/public
property
• Managed by federal, state or local
government
• Balances environmental, economic
& social responsibilities
• Multifaceted rules of use
• Public access
Common
property
• Collectively owned & managed
• Shared responsibilities
• Rights of access & use exclude
non-members
Open access
• No established or enforced
property rights or rules of use
• Constraints on misuse absent
• First-come, fi rst-served conditions
