Ecological damage compensation for coastal sea area uses

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2013. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ecological Indicators 38 (2014):149-158, doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.11.001.Rapid economic growth has resulted in significant ecological degradation in many coastal areas in China. Control measures involving Marine Ecological Damage Compensation (MEDC) have been introduced to curb unsustainable development. The study presents a practical framework for developing the MEDC standard. The standard considers spatial variation in ecological services and includes many different types of ocean uses that are common in coastal waters around the world.We illustrate the framework and specific procedures through a case study of Xiamen. Results of our calculation show that damages from many ocean uses to the ecosystems are not adequately compensated under current management regime, and a carefully designed MEDC standard is crucial for sustainable development.The study was funded by the National Oceanic Public Welfare Projects (No. 201105006) and the Oceans and Fisheries Bureau of Xiamen ([2010]60)