The United Nations asked Crane Associates in 2019 to complete a total economic valuation of all coastal ecosystems on the pacific island nation of East Timor (Timor-Leste) as part of a larger coastal resiliency and protection project. The study measured the economic contributions that a healthy coastal ecosystem provided to the GDP of the country and the socio-economic health of coastal communities. Specifically, the study measured the value of six benefit streams that the coastal ecosystem provided to the public including: wood, fisheries, carbon sequestration, shoreline protection, eco-tourism, and non-market values(existence, bequest, and option values). The study demonstrated that a healthy coastal ecosystem proved an average $313 million dollars of value annually or $2.5 million per kilometer. The United Nations is using these results in numerous ways including negotiations on development, valuing environmental protection, raising funding for resiliency and mitigation projects, and determining the conservation project’s the Return on Investment (ROI). Timor-Leste. 2019.
