Saltmarsh prawn and fish species composition and production data

Policy and decision makers often seek guidance as to the benefits of conservation and repair of coastal seascapes, to justify and underpin any potential investments. Much is already known about the broad habitat and nursery values of seascapes among the science community, but there is also a need for estimation of clear and unambiguous market-based benefits that may arise from investment in repair. Recognising that this economic knowledge is imperfect for Australian seascapes, three case studies spanning tropical, subtropical and temperate environments explored the benefits in question. The case studies focus on saltmarsh habitats in particular, which have received very little investment in repair despite subtropical and temperate coastal saltmarsh listed as vulnerable ecological community under Australian Federal legislation. A subset of economically important species and conservative judgments were used to characterise the minimum potential economic benefit. For each of the case studies the conclusion was that while the biological information will remain imperfect, the business case for investment in the repair and conservation of coastal seascapes is compelling. We outline priorities for further research to make the business case more tangible to policy makers, stakeholders and the general public.政策制定者与决策者常亟需海岸海域景观（coastal seascapes）保护与修复的效益参考依据，以论证并支撑各类潜在投资项目。科学界已对该类景观的宽泛生境及育苗服务价值形成了较为充分的认知，但仍需量化估算修复投资所能带来的清晰明确的市场化效益。鉴于当前针对澳大利亚海域景观的相关经济认知仍存在不足，本研究选取覆盖热带、亚热带与温带三类环境的三个案例，对前述目标效益展开系统性探究。本次案例研究尤其聚焦盐沼（saltmarsh）生境：尽管根据澳大利亚联邦立法，亚热带与温带沿海盐沼已被列为脆弱生态群落，但其修复领域的投入仍极为有限。研究选取了部分具有重要经济价值的物种类群，并采用审慎保守的评估准则，以刻画最低潜在经济收益水平。各案例研究均得出一致结论：尽管生物相关信息仍存在不完备之处，但针对海岸海域景观开展修复与保护的投资合理性论证极具说服力。我们还梳理了后续研究的优先方向，以进一步强化该投资论证的具象性，便于政策制定者、利益相关方及普通公众理解。