Green Economy in a Blue World-Full Report

in a Blue World

Estimated potential yearly whale watching revenue

Africa

Americas

Asia

Europe

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Million US dollars

Direct expenditure Indirect expenditure

Source: Cisneros-Montemayor A. M., et al., The global potential for whale watching , Marine Policy, 2010.

with substantial environmental change and degradation and cultural commodification, while economic benefits may not be as great as expected because of profit repatriation by foreign investors, relatively low wages, and underemployment because of seasonal demand. The benefit of tourism to society is thus highly complex and its contributions to poverty alleviation remain to be better substantiated. As outlined, marine environments are key assets for tourism, and increasingly at risk of being lost to environmental- and climate change. While there appear to be few studies assessing the global value of marine environments for tourism in its entirety, some estimates exist for marine recreational activities such as fishing, whale watching and diving (Hoyt, 2001). Unless otherwise indicated, the following sections are based on UNEP (2011). The value of marine recreational activities was calculated by Cisneros-Montemayor & Sumaila (2010). A database of reported expenditure on marine recreational activities was compiled for 144 coastal countries, with the authors estimating that in 2003, nearly 60 million 3 The economic case for greening the sector

recreational anglers around theworld generated a total of about US$40 billion in expenditure, supporting over 950 000 jobs. Hoyt (2001) estimatedthatover13millionpeople worldwide participated in whale watching in 2003, with expenditure reaching around US$1.6 billion in that year (Cisneros-Montemayor & Sumaila, 2010). It is also estimated that 18 000 jobs worldwide are supported by this industry each year. Furthermore, 10 million active recreational divers and 40 million snorkelers generate over US$5.5 billion globally in direct expenditure, supporting 113 000 jobs. In total, it is estimated that 121 million marine recreational activities participants generate US$47 billion in expenditure annually and support over one million jobs (Cisneros-Montemayor & Sumaila, 2010). Studies have also addressed the economic value of diving for protected areas. Cesar & van Beukering (2004) calculated that more than 14.6 million snorkelling trips and 870 000 dives were sustained by coastal zones in Hawaii, corresponding to a total economic value of US$264 million for snorkelling and US$40 million for diving. White & Rosales (2003) report that most local and about 80 per cent of foreign divers were willing to pay user fees for diving in the Philippines, with up to US$9 per person per trip.

Ecosystem-based marine recreational activities in 2003

Item (units)

Recreational fishing

Whale watching

Diving and snorkelling

Total

Participation (millions)

60

13

50

123

Expenditure (US$ billions)

40

1.6

5.5

47.1

Employment (thousand)

950

18

113

1,081

Source: Cisneros-Montemayor & Sumaila (2010)

101