An analysis of coastal restoration projects in Alabama and Mississippi

Abstract

This study aims to review thirteen coastal restoration projects considering the various ecosystem services provided by restoration and estimates the economic value of one of the ecosystem services of restoration. These ecosystem services include water quality improvement, fish and benthic species productivity, shoreline stabilization, oyster abundance, and marsh growth. The projects represent a set of large-scale projects within Alabama and Mississippi, with construction and monitoring costs ranging from $2.3 million to$50 million per project. To determine the economic value of one of the ecosystem services of coastal restoration projects, I used the meta-analysis method to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for coastal water quality improvements. The estimated function from the meta-analysis is applied to parameters specific to the study area. The WTP for improved coastal water quality, from a baseline of fishable but likely to degrade, to an improved fishing catch rate, is $203 per household annually among residents of Alabama and Mississippi