THE FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION – GREEN ECONOMY

An analysis of 89 major ecosystem restoration projects worldwide concluded that ecologi- cal restoration increased provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services increased by 44 and 25%, respectively (Benayas et al., 2009). Increases in ecosystem services and biodiver- sity were positively related. In a survey of managers of 317 river restoration projects in the US, nearly two-thirds believed the projects to be completely successful. At the same time, a series of investigations have shown extraordinary high willingness to pay and support for restoration in certain public questionnaires, up to 78% of the interviewees, suggesting high awareness and low risk for these investments in terms of public feedback (Brander et al., 2006; Cao et al., 2009; Dehghani et al., 2010; Sodhi et al., 2010).

Table 4: Estimates of costs and benefits of restoration projects in different biomes

Biome/

Ecosystem

Coral reefs Coastal

mangroves inland wetlands Lakes/rivers tropical forests other forests Woodland/shrubland Grasslands

Typical cost of resto- ration (high scenario)

USD/ha

542,500 232,700 2,880 33,000 4,000 3,450 2,390 990 260

Est. annual benefits from restoration (avg. scenario)

USD/ha

129,200 73,900 4,290 14,200 3,800 7,000 1,620 1,571 1,010

Net present value of benefits over 40 years

USD/ha

1 ,166,000 935,400 86,900 171,300 69,700 148,700 26,300 32,180 22,600

Internal rate of return

%

7% 11% 40% 12% 27% 50% 20% 42% 79%

Benefit/cost ratio

Ratio

2,8 4.4 26.4 5.4 15.5 37.3 10.3 28.4 75.1

Source: TEEB, 2009. Please note that there is substatial uncertainty with regard to these numbers. Updated figures are expected to be available by 2010/11.

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