Economic of Ocean Resources - Assignment Example

Economic of Ocean Resources Oceans are large water bodies that form part the International Environmental Public Goods that are fundamental in the development and sustenance of numerous economies globally. Just as with any other international property, oceans extend to numerous territories a feature that complicates the management and conservation of the pivotal economic resource. Additionally, oceans are major ecosystems that sustain numerous organism that are equally important in the economic development of both the countries bordering the large water bodies and those that do not. This implies that oceans among other international water bodies affect the growth and stabilities of numerous economies (Rodrigo and Charles 3). This thus makes the management and conservation of the international public good vital to both those bordering the water bodies and those who do not, failure to conserve the water bodies effectively has myriad economic ramifications as portrayed in the discussion below. Ineffective management of oceans refers to the lack of effective administrative policies to regulate the use of the international public good thus permitting everyone to use the ocean as they wish. Among the numerous uses of oceans include navigation thus transportation of goods, sports and tourism among many others. While the ocean offers such primary services to the people, they constitute part of the global ecosystems often surviving numerous species of aquatic wildlife (Erwin, Cornelis and Timothy 5). Failing to manage the ecosystem thus permits those who use the resource to pollute the waters while those engaging in fishing to overfish even some of the endangered species in such ecosystems. The consequences of a polluted ocean are dire. These affect every citizen of the globe despite their relationship with such water bodies owing to the production of impure public goods. As a public good, the consumption of the oceans requires the ocean to remain pure and conducive. This implies that the governments that border the water bodies must formulate effective policies that govern the use of the ocean often safeguarding the interests of the natural ecosystems found in the oceans. Among the major factors that pollute the water, include oil spillage and garbage management. The large oil tankers among other vessels that use the ocean must ensure effective and considerate use of the resource in order to curb instances of spilling oil among other types of impurities into the oceans. Additionally, industrial cities situated strategically along the water bodies must manage their wastes effectively in order to curb dumping of industrial refuse into the ocean. Additionally, excessive fishing coupled with poaching is some of the human activities that contribute to the dilapidation of the natural ecosystems thus reducing the economic value of the environmental goods. The ocean as an impure public good is one that does not sustain the economic activities in the region. Pollution for example results in the destruction of the natural ecosystems, which is home to numerous plant and animal species. The destruction of the mangrove forests through deforestation eliminates fundamental features of the ecosystem that sustains he lives of numerous coastal organisms. The effects of such destructions include the eradication of the tourism industry since the mangrove ecosystems are major tourist attractions sites as tourists visit such regions for the rich biodiversity. Such an effects is an example of the effects of impure public goods. Just as discussed earlier, destruction of the natural ecosystem affects the lives of numerous people including those who do not live around such ecosystems. The destruction of the groove forests as described above will have dire environmental consequences to the global climate, as it will contribute to the rising global warming. The rise in temperature and the ocean volumes continue to cause havoc globally as a perfect example of an impure public good with minimal value to the humans. Oceans are essential means of transportation a feature that sustains international trade. Merchants ship their products to international market through large ships that guarantee both safety and cheaper costs of doing business. Furthermore, the ocean provides an efficient means of transporting bulky nonperishable products such oil among many other. The destruction of the ocean through extensive pollution of the ports will definitely make numerous ports globally inaccessible. The closure of ports owing to pollution as is the case in China among other countries hinders the growth of international trade. This turns such countries into landlocked territories a feature that will compel the governments of such countries to invest in other costly alternatives in order for their economies to enjoy international trade. Such an occurrence affects the livelihoods of those who live around the water bodies and those living in far-flung regions. Such possibilities underscore the need for global conservation of the international environmental public goods. Economic efficiency is an important feature often considered in the management of such public goods as oceans. The concept refers to the betterment of the welfare of the population in the country. This implies that the people in the country must benefit from the public gods in their regions in order to enhance their wellbeing. However, the use of the natural resources relies on the laws governing the use of such property. While most countries have, effective laws that govern the use of such property thus enhancing the wellbeing of their citizens numerous factors hinder the management of the public goods thus making such property as the oceans susceptible to exploitation. Among such factors are the lack of effective property rights and effective placement of boundaries. The lack of appropriate demarcation of boundaries in the oceans contributes to the rise of conflicts on jurisdiction in the management and conservation of the assets since every country has unique policies on the conservation of the property. In retrospect, the management and conservation of oceans, which are primary international environmental public goods, is paramount owing to the economic and ecological importance of such resources. The cost of redressing the environmental pollution coupled with the ecological damage is often dire thus influencing the effective management of oceans among other similar resources. Among the effects of failing to manage such resources effectively is the destruction of the ecosystems. The destruction of plants and animals living in the oceans has severe ramifications to both the people living around the resources and those living in distant societies. Works cited Erwin, H. Bulte, Cornelis, van Kooten and Timothy, Swanson. Economic Incentives and Wildlife Conservation. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print. Rodrigo, Arriagada and Charles, Perrings. Paying for the international environmental publics goods. A journal of the human environment. 2010: 40: 7. Print. Read More