ABSTRACT
Over the last two decades or so, ecological economists have shown that coastal resources are unique in being both productive and valuable, as pointed out in Chapter 1 (Figure 1.1). Coasts have historically attracted people and provided the resources to make a living. Coastal environments such as estuaries, marshes, wetlands, floodplains, coral reefs and mangroves provide a rich array of ecosystem services for human well-being. Following ecological economics terminology used in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, these ecosystem services are the benefits that people derive from ecosystems. They include supporting services such as nutrient cycling, provisioning services such as food production, regulating services such as water purification, and cultural services such as heritage and spiritual values (Figure 9.1).
