"Stranded capital: environmental stewardship is part of the economy, to" by Joe Roman, Verna DeLauer et al.

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Title

Stranded capital: environmental stewardship is part of the economy, too

Authors

Joe Roman, University of Vermont
Verna DeLauer, Franklin Pierce College
Irit Altman, Boston University Marine Program
Brendan Fisher, University of Vermont
Roelof Boumans, Accounting for Desirable Futures
Les Kaufman, Boston University Marine Program

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2018

Abstract

The many values that humans place on biodiversity are widely acknowledged but difficult to measure in practice. We address this problem by quantifying the contribution of marine-related environmental stewardship, in the form of donations and volunteer hours, to the economy of coastal Massachusetts. Our conservative evaluation suggests that marine stewardship activities contributed at least $179 million to the state economy in 2014, a figure that exceeded revenues derived in that same year from commercial finfish operations ($105 million) and whale watching ($111 million), two acknowledged cornerstones of the regional economy. Almost imperceptibly, the coastal economy has been transformed from one dependent on commercial exchange to a diverse economy that includes, to a large measure, marine stewardship. Donations and volunteer efforts are useful indicators of environmental values that can be hard to quantify, and represent one measure of human determination to protect the planet.

Rights Information

Recommended Citation

Roman J, DeLauer V, Altman I, Fisher B, Boumans R, Kaufman L. Stranded capital: environmental stewardship is part of the economy, too. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 2018 Apr;16(3):169-75.