Visitor Perception of the Degradation of Bar Reef Kalpitiya Sri Lanka
Abstract
Bar Reef is a complex marine ecosystem with over 120 coral species living in the reef and over 300 fish species reported from the surrounding sea. It was declared a marine sanctuary in 1992. Despite efforts for conservation, the Bar Reef ecosystem is at risk of degradation due to overexploitation of extractive uses, namely, edible fish, other seafood species, and aquarium fish. In addition, destructive fishing practices are also responsible for damaging the reef ecosystem. The designation of Kalpitiya as a significant tourism promotion area has created additional pressure on the system. Further, the worldwide incidence of coral bleaching in 1998 has severely affected a major part of the Bar Reef. However, the amount of degradation persistent in the bar reef has not been valued so far. This research has attempted to value the extent of degradation prevailing in the Bar Reef from the perception of the visitors. It has used Choice Experiment Method to assess the visitors’ perception of the degradation. Randomly selected 250 visitors were interviewed and the conditional logit model has been used to investigate the visitor preferences towards the habitat quality and analyze the significance of their preferences. According to the results obtained reduction of plastic and polythene by 50%, reducing the crowding in the beach area by 15%, and paying Rs. 1000 has become significant. Hence it is expected by this research to provide a signal to the relevant stakeholders on the extent of degradation prevailing and the importance of protecting this habitat.
References
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[50] Wattage, P., et al. 2011. Economic value of conserving deep-sea corals in Irish waters: a choice experiment study on marine protected areas. Fisheries Research, 107(1-3): 59-67.
[51] Wattage, P., Mardle, S., and Pascoe, S. 2005. Evaluation of the importance of fisheries management objectives using choice-experiments. Ecological Economics, 55(1): 85-95.
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[54] Wilkinson, C. CR. 2004. Status of coral reefs of the world: 2004. Australian Institute of Marine Science.
[2] Adamowicz, V., and Boxall, P. 2001. Future directions of stated choice methods for environment valuation. Choice experiments: A new approach to environmental valuation, London (2001): 1-6.
[3] Adamowicz, W., Boxall, P., Williams, M. and Louviere J. 1998. Stated preference approaches for measuring passive use values: choice experiments and contingent valuation. American journal of agricultural economics, 80(1): 64-75.
[4] Ahmed, M., Chong, C. K. and Cesar, H. 2004. Economic valuation and policy priorities for sustainable management of coral reefs. WorldFish.
[5] Ahmed, M., et al. 2007. Valuing recreational and conservation benefits of coral reefs—The case of Bolinao, Philippines. Ocean and Coastal Management, 50(1-2): 103-118.
[6] Armstrong, C. W., Aanesen, M., van Rensburg, T. M. and Sandorf, E. D. 2019. Willingness to pay to protect cold water corals. Conservation Biology, 33(6): 1329-1337.
[7] Birol, E., and Koundouri, P. eds. Choice experiments informing environmental policy: a European perspective. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008.
[8] Brander, L. M., Van Beukering, P. and Cesar, H. SJ. 2007. The recreational value of coral reefs: a meta-analysis. Ecological Economics, 63(1): 209- 218.
[9] Can, Ö. and Alp, E. 2012. Valuation of environmental improvements in a specially protected marine area: A choice experiment approach in Göcek Bay, Turkey. Science of the Total Environment, 439: 291-298.
[10] Carson, R.T., et al. 1994. Experimental analysis of choice. Marketing letters, 5: 351-367.
[11] Cavalletti, B., Corsi, M. and Lagomarsino, E. 2021. Marine Sites and the Drivers of Wellbeing: Ecosystem vs. Anthropic Services. Sustainability, 13(22): 12568.
[12] Cesar, H. S., and van Beukering, P. (2004). Economic valuation of the coral reefs of Hawai'i. Pacific Science, 58(2): 231-242.
[13] Cesar, H. SJ. 2002. Coral reefs: their functions, threats and economic value.
[14] Coast Conservation Department (2007), Coastal Environmental Profile: Kalpitiya Special Management Area, Sri Lanka.
[15] Costanza, R., et al. 1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. nature, 387(6630): 253-260.
[16] Davis, K. J., et al. 2019. Eliciting public values for management of complex marine systems: an integrated choice experiment. Marine Resource Economics, 34(1): 1-21.
[17] Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka (2020), Management Plan: Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary 2020-2025
[18] Dixon, J.A. 1998. Economic values of coral reef: what are the issues? Coral reefs: challenges and opportunities for sustainable management. World Bank, Washington, 157-162.
[19] Dixon, J. A., Scura, L. F. and van’t Hof, T. 1995. Ecology and microeconomics as ‘joint products’: the Bonaire Marine Park in the Caribbean. In Biodiversity conservation: problems and policies, pp. 127-145. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
[20] Green, P. E., and Srinivasan, V. 1978. Conjoint analysis in consumer research: issues and outlook. Journal of consumer research, 5(2): 103-123.
[21] Hodgson, G., and Dixon, J. A. 1988. Logging versus fisheries and tourism in Palawan: An environmental and economic analysis.
[22] Hundloe, T. J., and Miller, G. 1987. Environmental impacts of tuna projects.
[23] Jayasekara, KD De S., Gunawardena, U. A. D. P. and Rajapaksa, D. 2019. Valuing the Hikkaduwa Coral Reef: An Application of the Zonal Travel Cost Method. In Proceedings of International Forestry and Environment Symposium. 2019.
[24] Lane, D. R., et al. 2013. Quantifying and valuing potential climate change impacts on coral reefs in the United States: Comparison of two scenarios. PloS one, 8(12): e82579.
[25] Lara-Pulido, J.A., et al. 2021. A business case for marine protected areas: economic valuation of the reef attributes of Cozumel Island. Sustainability, 13(8): 4307.
[26] Laurans, Y., et al. 2013. Economic valuation of ecosystem services from coral reefs in the South Pacific: Taking stock of recent experience. Journal of environmental management, 116: 135-144.
[27] Lee, C.-H., Chen, Y.J. and Chen, C. W. 2019. Assessment of the economic value of ecological conservation of the kenting coral reef. Sustainability, 11(20): 5869.
[28] Leisher, C., et al. 2007. Nature's investment bank: how marine protected areas contributed to poverty reduction.
[29] Mariel, P., et al. 2021. Environmental valuation with discrete choice experiments: Guidance on design, implementation and data analysis (p. 129). Springer Nature.
[30] Mous, P., et al. 2000. Cyanide fishing on Indonesian coral reefs for the live food fish market-what is the problem. Collected essays on the economics of coral reefs. Kalmar, Sweden: CORDIO, Kalmar University, 69-76.
[31] Mumby, P. J., and Steneck, R. S. 2008. Coral reef management and conservation in light of rapidly evolving ecological paradigms. Trends in ecology and evolution, 23(10): 555-563.
[32] Ngoc, Q. T. K. 2019. Assessing the value of coral reefs in the face of climate change: The evidence from Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam. Ecosystem services, 35: 99-108.
[33] Öhman, M.C., and Rajasuriya, A. 1998. Relationships between habitat structure and fish communities on coral. Environmental biology of fishes, 53: 19-31.
[34] Öhman, M.C., and Cesar, H.SJ. 2000. Costs and benefits of coral mining. Collected essays on the economics of coral reefs. CORDIO, 85-93.
[35] Pakalniete, K., et al. 2021. Economic valuation of ecosystem service benefits and welfare impacts of offshore marine protected areas: A study from the Baltic Sea. Sustainability, 13(18): 10121.
[36] Parsons, G. R., and Thur, S.M. 2008. Valuing changes in the quality of coral reef ecosystems: a stated preference study of SCUBA diving in the Bonaire National Marine Park. Environmental and Resource Economics, 40: 593-608.
[37] Pendleton, L. H. 1995. Valuing coral reef protection. Ocean and Coastal Management, 26(2): 119-131.
[38] Pet-Soede, C., Cesar, H. S., and Pet, J. S. 1999. An economic analysis of blast fishing on Indonesian coral reefs. Environmental conservation, 26(2): 83-93.
[39] Pollnac, R. B., et al. 2000. Unexpected relationships between coral reef health and socio-economic pressures in the Philippines: ReefBase/RAMP applied. Marine and Freshwater Research, 51(5): 529-533.
[40] Rajasuriya, A. R. J. A. N. 2002. Status report on the condition of reef habitats in Sri Lanka, 2002. Coral reef degradation in the Indian Ocean, 139.
[41] Rajasuriya, A. R. J. A. N., and Karunarathna, C. H. A. M. I. N. D. A. 2000. Postbleaching status of the coral reefs of Sri Lanka. CORDIO status report.
[42] Rajasuriya, A., and White, A.T. 1995. Coral reefs of Sri Lanka: review of their extent, condition, and management status. Coastal Management, 23(1): 77-90.
[43] Rani, S., et al. 2020. Economic valuation and conservation, restoration and management strategies of Saint Martin's coral island, Bangladesh. Ocean and Coastal Management, 183, 105024. Economics, 40(4): 593-608.
[44] Ryan, M. 1996. Using consumer preferences in health care decision making: the application of conjoint analysis. No. 000420. Office of Health Economics.
[45] Shen, M., et al. 2019. The social costs of marine litter along the East China Sea: Evidence from ten coastal scenic spots of Zhejiang Province, China. Sustainability, 11(6): 1807.
[46] Spash, C. L. 2000. Assessing the benefits of improving coral reef biodiversity: the contingent valuation method. Collected essays on the economics of coral reefs, 40-54.
[47] Spurgeon, J. PG, and Lindahl, U. 2000. Economics of coral reef restoration.
[48] Spurgeon, J.PG. 1992. The economic valuation of coral reefs. Marine pollution bulletin, 24(11): 529-536.
[49] Subade, R. F. 2007. Mechanisms to capture economic values of marine biodiversity: The case of Tubbataha Reefs UNESCO World Heritage Site, Philippines. Marine Policy, 31(2): 135-142.
[50] Wattage, P., et al. 2011. Economic value of conserving deep-sea corals in Irish waters: a choice experiment study on marine protected areas. Fisheries Research, 107(1-3): 59-67.
[51] Wattage, P., Mardle, S., and Pascoe, S. 2005. Evaluation of the importance of fisheries management objectives using choice-experiments. Ecological Economics, 55(1): 85-95.
[52] Westmacott, S. 2000. Management of bleached and severely damaged coral reefs. IUCN.
[53] Wielgus, J., et al. 2002. Dose–response modeling of recreationally important coral-reef attributes: a review and potential application to the economic valuation of damage. Coral Reefs, 21: 253-259.
[54] Wilkinson, C. CR. 2004. Status of coral reefs of the world: 2004. Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Published
2024-02-29
How to Cite
JAYARATNE, Chamathi; WATTAGE, Premachandra; GUNAWARDENA, Prasanthi.
Visitor Perception of the Degradation of Bar Reef Kalpitiya Sri Lanka.
Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, [S.l.], v. 15, n. 1, p. 144 - 155, feb. 2024.
ISSN 2068-7729.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jemt/article/view/8329>. Date accessed: 21 nov. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.v15.1(73).12.
Section
Article
Copyright© 2024 The Author(s). Published by ASERS Publishing 2024. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of CC-BY 4.0 license.