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Abstract
This paper uses the choice experiment methodology to estimate the value of the nonmarket
benefits associated with the achievement of good (marine) environmental
status (GES) as specified in the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).
The MSFD requires that the “costs of degradation” (the benefits foregone if GES is
not achieved) be considered within a broader ‘Economic and Social Assessment’ of
the marine environment by EU member states. Assessing the costs of degradation as
defined by the MSFD implies that changes in marine ecosystem services provided in
each State should be analysed. The results show that there are high values attached
with changes to the state of the marine environment by the Irish general public. The
results of a random parameters logit model also demonstrate that preferences are
heterogeneous, with changes in certain marine attributes generating both positive and
negative utility.