CRS-8 

 Issue 3 



Should future research activities be aimed at defining and evaluating the 

 economic value of wetlands? Some persons contend that wetland management 

 might be assisted by improved capability to translate the multiple functions 

 of wetlands into economic values which might then be utilized in management 

 decisions. Others take the position that, in dealing with resources as varied 

 as wetlands, it probably is not feasible and may not be desirable to emphasize 

 economic values above scientific considerations. 



Pro 



Some persons assert that the best decisions for society about resources 

 are typically made in economic terms. Economic terms should serve as a common 

 baseline for comparing alternatives, they say. While scientific investigation 

 of wetlands has been extensive, relatively little attention has been given 

 to improving valuation capabilities. Even for those wetlands where a great 

 deal of scientific research data are available, translation into economic 

 terms has usually not occurred. (See discussion on problems of valuation, 

 pages 52-53.) The figures available today are fragmentary. Economists dis- 

 agree on the best approach. Efforts to improve these capabilities will pay 

 considerable dividends in wetland managment in the future. 



Before decisions can be made using economic terms, certain improvements 

 on present capabilities are required. They are: 



1) A need for more analysis on how best to translate functions into 

 values; 



2) An ability to compare different types of wetlands, and to incorporate 

 values based on the relative scarcity of a particular wetland; and 



3) Tools to determine how proposed alterations in a portion of a wetland 

 area will affect values in other portions of that area. 



