Valuation, rehabilitation and conservation of mangroves in tsunami affected areas of Hambantota, Sri Lanka

Under the project “Valuation, Rehabilitation and Conservation of Mangroves in Tsunami Affected Areas” IUCN and SEEDO jointly undertook
a valuation study assessing the economic values of mangroves in Hambantota district of Sri Lanka. A survey was undertaken
in the four villages of Medagama, Medilla, Rekawa-west and Netolpitiya-south.

The study valued the environmental goods and services provided by mangroves and benefi ting the local communities. The mangrove
goods that were values included various NTFPs (fi sh, shellfi sh, fuelwood, wild vegetables, herbs, fodder, coconut leaves, husks, coir)
as well as timber and poles, and the valued mangrove services included fi sh nurseries and breeding grounds, restocking of near-shore
fi sheries and shoreline protection.

The primary method used to calculate the direct use values of mangroves was Market Prices (MP), and Participatory Environmental
Valuation (PEV), a technique where local villagers can express the value of different mangrove goods through a ranking exercise.
PEV was used to verify the value derived from the MP method for goods primarily consumed within the household and was based
on the premise that environmental goods, which are rarely traded, tend to be undervalued by the market. Therefore, identifying their
“true” value requires the use of a more participatory valuation method. In the present study fuelwood, timber and poles and herbs and
vegetables were the only mangrove goods used exclusively for subsistence and hence subject to PEV.