Economic valuation of coral reefs

[Jason Hunter]

Working with the International Coral Reef Initiative, we have been tasked to 
develop a study on the biological, political, and economic benefits of the 
proposed "Coral Reef Peace Park" in Aqaba Jordan. 

The primary focus of the study is on the economic valuation of Aqaba's coral 
reefs as they exist today, as well as projected net worth after tourist 
development. In order to assist us in our study we are kindly looking for 
the following information: 

- is there a ubiquitous method to determine diver capacity on a particular 
reef eco-system (outside of the method used by Dixon et al.); 

- what are the average expenditures by divers on a 6 day trip (including 
hotels, restaurants, etc.); 

- specific information on capacity, development plans, and the general 
diving tourist trade in Jordan, Israel and Egypt;    

- and following up on Edwina Dominguez message, any general data on the 
valuation of reefs from a eco-tourism perspective would be most helpful. 

Your assistance in this project would be of immense help. 


Thank you, 

Coral Reef Workshop 
School of International and Public Affairs 
Columbia University 


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Jason Hunter 
School of International and Public Affairs 
Columbia University	 
jsh32 at columbia.edu 
http://www.columbia.edu/~jsh32/