Study Supports High Econonic and Social Value of Ballona Restoration

In a study published this month (1), the progressive Center for American Progress reported that coastal restoration investments create jobs and stimulate spending, and healthy, restored ocean and coastal wetlands ecosystems provide enhanced economic value.  For example, economists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, have found that $1 million invested in coastal restoration creates 17.1 jobs on average. This compares to job growth from industrial coastal activities, such as oil and gas development, in which $1 million of investment creates an average of just 8.9 jobs. 

According to the study, the economic contribution of these activities does not stop when workers idle their bulldozers. In examining the ongoing economic contributions provided by healthy, restored coastal ecosystems such as tidal wetlands, seagrass beds, and oyster reefs, an analysis of three federally funded projects revealed that investing in well-designed coastal restoration can be highly cost effective, returning significantly more than the cost of the restoration project. Averaging the benefit-cost ratios across the three restoration projects studied, each dollar invested by taxpayers returns more than $15 in net economic benefits. These benefits include buffering storm surges; safeguarding coastal homes and businesses; sequestering carbon and other pollutants; creating nursery habitat for commercially and recreationally important fish species; and restoring open space and wildlife that support recreation, tourism, and the culture of coastal communities.  

The benefits are not simply environmental; they are economic and social as well, particularly in lower-income communities, where individuals frequently rely on fisheries for employment and sustenance and lack the resources to construct costly—and frequently less effective—manmade flood barriers or water treatment facilities. 

In one of the sites studied—the San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds—the ecosystem restoration showed highly positive returns in ecosystem-service related benefits relative to each project’s cost at levels well above the economic output, and job creation stimulated by project spending.  The Salt Ponds project cost $8.27 million, produced $8.07 million in direct project economic output, but will provide $69-220 million in lifetime value from the restored ecosystem. 

The report concludes that investing in coastal restoration – such as that proposed for the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve - is good policy. It is not just the right thing to do for the environment; it is the right thing to do for coastal communities, vulnerable coastal populations, and the U.S. economy. In the words of former NOAA Chief Economist Dr. Linwood Pendleton, “restoring degraded marine and coastal habitat is critical if America’s coasts and oceans are to reach their economic and ecological potential.” 

The Center for American Progress is an independent nonpartisan educational institute dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action.  Its Board of Directors includes former Sen. Tom Daschle, former U.S. Secretary to the United Nations Madeline Albright, and former U.S. EPA Administrator Carol Browner. 

1.  Conathan, M., Buchanan, J., and S. Polefka  2014.  The Economic Case for Restoring Coastal Ecosystems.   Center for American Progress and OXFAM America 

Enjoy Your Ballona Wetlands 

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