Socio-cultural valuation of whale ecosystem services in Skjálfandi Bay, Iceland

• Published in: Ecological Economics
• Main Authors: Malinauskaite, Laura, Cook, David, Davidsdottir, Brynhildur, Ögmundardóttir, Helga
• Other Authors: Umhverfis- og auðlindafræði (HÍ), Environment and Natural Resources (UI), Hagfræðideild (HÍ), Faculty of Economics (UI), Líf- og umhverfisvísindadeild (HÍ), Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences (UI), Félagsfræði-, mannfræði- og þjóðfræðideild (HÍ), Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics (UI), Verkfræði- og náttúruvísindasvið (HÍ), School of Engineering and Natural Sciences (UI), Félagsvísindasvið (HÍ), School of Social Sciences (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier BV 2021
• Subjects: Socio-cultural ES valuation; Whale ecosystem services; Non-monetary valuation; Multi-method approach; Hvalaskoðun; Húsavík; Menningaráhrif; Samfélagsáhrif; Vistvæn ferðamennska; Arctic; Skjálfandi; Climate change; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/2124; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106867

Pre-print (óritrýnt handrit) The study examines the socio-cultural values of multiple ecosystem services (ES) sourced from whales in Skjálfandi Bay, North Iceland, with many beneficiaries living in and visiting the town of Húsavík. The study begins to address the research gap in non-monetary valuation of marine ecosystem services. Based on a multi-method approach, it elicits stakeholders' perceptions of the contribution of whale ES to human wellbeing using stakeholder mapping, semi-structured interviews, observations, and socio-cultural preference surveys. The key whale ES identified by the local stakeholders were cultural, most frequently mentioned being recreation and education. The most commonly mentioned ES values were related to economic benefits from the whale watching industry. The preference survey reveals that regulating and maintenance ES were valued most highly with a mean score of 4.0 out of 5.0, cultural ES were second with a mean score of 3.5, and provisioning ES in the form of food and raw materials were valued the least with a mean of 0.75. Interview data also reveals some marine ES management challenges originating from intensified tourism, industrial development, and climate change. The results of the study have the potential to inform marine resource management in Iceland by including socio-cultural values associated with whale resources. This paper has been subject to funding from NordForsk (grant number 76654) via their financial support to the Nordic Centre of Excellence ARCPATH (Arctic Climate Predictions – Pathways to Resilient, Sustainable Communities) and the Doctoral Grant of the University of Iceland Research Fund.