CNMI wetlands: $10.28M economic value each year

The total economic value of the CNMI’s wetlands is approximately $10.28 million per year, according to a Netherlands-based consulting firm that did a study to put a number on how wetlands benefit the CNMI economically.

In his presentation on the initial findings of the study, Stijn Schep from Wolfs Company warned, however, that this number should be taken with caution and that it is actually up to the people of the CNMI to decide how valuable these aspects of wetlands are to them.

The study was contracted through the Division of Coastal Resource Management at the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality. Schep presented these findings last Sept. 25 at the BECQ for an agency presentation in the morning, followed by a public presentation at American Memorial Park in the evening.

The purpose of the study was to try to quantify some of the economic benefits of wetland areas based on their ability to provide potable water, prevent sediment and nutrient runoff, prevent flood damage to infrastructure, and a variety of other benefits.

Schep noted that the biggest take away from the study is that any economic valuation that can be made about the CNMI’s wetlands “will significantly underestimate” their benefits to recreation, aesthetics, and wildlife, “all of which are extremely difficult to quantify in economic terms.”

He noted it is really up to the people of the CNMI to decide how valuable these aspects of wetlands are to them in order to drive any policy decisions.

Many of these estimates are based on the cost of replacement (i.e., the cost of building a desalination plant to provide the same freshwater source that a wetland can supply to a drinking water aquifer).

Wetlands are defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.

There are two types of wetlands: coastal/tidal wetlands and inland/non-tidal wetlands. Wetlands are usually indicated by the presence of water for some part of the year, water-loving vegetation, and soils characteristic of wetlands.

The CNMI’s wetlands, the largest of which is Lake Susupe, provide many benefits to the residents of the CNMI. These benefits include providing a source of water for the surrounding community, buffering the surrounding area from the impacts of flooding, retaining sediment and nutrient runoff that would otherwise flow into the lagoon, providing a place for fish and wildlife to live, and a place for recreation and enjoyment of nature.