Wetland valuation: three case studies

Should society be concerned about the loss of wetlands? The arguments and analysis in this chapter seek to construct a case for an affirmative answer to this question. Wetlands represent important forms of natural capital (Costanza and Daly 1992), and there is an urgent need for a balance to be struck between wetland conservation, sustainable utilisation and wetland conversion (Turner 1991). The management process will not be costless and therefore wetland assets require proper ecological and economic valuation.