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Valuing the Invaluable: Piquant Georgia Low-Country Marsh Ecosystem Services

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Date Issued:
2017
Summary:
Coastal ecosystems, such as the salt marsh of the Georgia coast, have long been valued for decision-making purposes based on market-values of goods and services including: fishery landings, hedonic pricing of waterfront homes, and tourism dollars. These values do not show the full picture of services provided by these ecosystems. Using focus group discussions and key informant interviews I investigate socio-cultural values and benefits provided by salt marsh ecosystems in central coastal Georgia. Participants noted that through their experiences in marshes they developed a desire to be stewards. This desire, coupled with the industrial pollution, residential development, and sea-level rise threats in the area result in a need for cooperative conservation and thus better enforcement of existing regulations. This relational value persisted across geographic locations and sample populations. My results show the importance of utilizing diverse members of community to elicit qualitative value statements.
Title: Valuing the Invaluable: Piquant Georgia Low-Country Marsh Ecosystem Services.
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Name(s): Wood, Alyssa A., author
Polsky, Colin, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Department of Geosciences
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2017
Date Issued: 2017
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 137 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Coastal ecosystems, such as the salt marsh of the Georgia coast, have long been valued for decision-making purposes based on market-values of goods and services including: fishery landings, hedonic pricing of waterfront homes, and tourism dollars. These values do not show the full picture of services provided by these ecosystems. Using focus group discussions and key informant interviews I investigate socio-cultural values and benefits provided by salt marsh ecosystems in central coastal Georgia. Participants noted that through their experiences in marshes they developed a desire to be stewards. This desire, coupled with the industrial pollution, residential development, and sea-level rise threats in the area result in a need for cooperative conservation and thus better enforcement of existing regulations. This relational value persisted across geographic locations and sample populations. My results show the importance of utilizing diverse members of community to elicit qualitative value statements.
Identifier: FA00004993 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Dissertations, Academic -- Florida Atlantic University
Salt marshes.
Ecosystem services.
Ecosystem services--Valuation.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004993
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.