A watershed-level economic assessment of the downstream effects of steepland erosion on shrimp production, Honduras

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-96).Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics.One of the principal problems ceding developing nations is the degradation of their natural resources and the damages resulting from their mismanagement. Resource degradation and mismanagement impose costs on economies and societies. Policy makers often fail to take these costs into consideration however, since they are difficult to quantify. In Honduras, poor management of steeplands due to deforestation, poor farming practices, and intensive grazing has led to accelerated soil erosion and degraded watersheds, particularly in the area of the Gulf of Fonseca. The consequences include not only agricultural productivity losses but also downstream damages from an altered water regime, increased flooding, and siltation. In policy planning, the benefits of soil conservation to downstream users are not being fully considered, nor are the opportunity costs of continuing to allow the soil resource to be degraded. A significant externalism of steepland mismanagement in southern Honduras is the downstream costs it imposes on the shrimp industry. In this study, an historical and descriptive profile of the Honduran shrimp industry is developed emphasizing linkages between ecological and economic sustainability. Then, the impact on semi-intensive shrimp farms of internalizing the cost of sedimentation in their water supply channels is estimated under two scenarios: a closed system and a system occupying land area 10% larger than what is under production. Finally, the costs to artisan shrimp farmers associated with insecure land tenure are discussed. By evaluating the externalism of steepland erosion on the shrimp industry in economic terms, this study quantitatively describes the interrelationship between upland activity and downstream environmental and economic impacts. This study shows that given current erosion rates, reduced soil loss from steeplands on large semi-intensive shrimp farms, which represent the bulk of the shrimp industry, has an estimated net present value of $105 per hectare per year for 50 years of normal operations