Evaluating development alternatives: the Negril and Black River Morasses of Jamaica
The Black River and Negril Morasses of Jamaica present a case study of the trade-offs between renewable and nonrenewable natural resource uses of coastal areas of a developing country. The marshes overlie deposits of peat, a potential substitute for imported oil in electric power generation. But peat mining will irreversibly change the morasses and may preclude renewable food and biomass production. Economic evaluation methods fail to account for irreversible environmental changes and the value of ecological products, nonpecuniary factors critical to sustaining renewable activities. This dissertation demonstrates that ecological criteria and opportunity cost, multiple objective, and coastal zone management evaluation methods can assist decision makers to explicitly address the trade-offs between renewable and nonrenewable resource uses. The case study evaluation and sensitivity analysis show that the net economic benefits of shrimp and fish trapping at Black River are greater than those for peat electricity. If the peat plant is based at Negril, peat electricity benefits exceed those of local fishing. However, mining impacts on the adjacent Negril beach tourist industry require further study.
- OSTI ID:
- 5964893
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
COASTAL REGIONS
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
JAMAICA
WETLANDS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
EVALUATION
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECONOMICS
ECOSYSTEMS
GREATER ANTILLES
ISLANDS
WEST INDIES
290400* - Energy Planning & Policy- Energy Resources
290200 - Energy Planning & Policy- Economics & Sociology