Comparative economic analysis between commercial aquaculture and selected mangrove ecosystems along Macajalar Bay, Philippines

This paper aims to compare the cost and benefit values of commercial aquaculture and mangrove ecosystems situated in three municipalities namely; Laguindingan, Alubijid, and El Salvador, Northern Mindanao, Philippines. Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) has been used for value determination and comparison of mangrove forests and commercial aquaculture farm. The results revealed that the annual total economic values of the three selected mangrove study areas are estimated to be Php 1,496,345.55 (Laguindingan) Php 1,448,160.19 (Alubijid) and Php 1,444,172.53 (El Salvador per hectare, respectively). The highest value contribution is derived from the direct use value, 90.54 %, 90.40 % & 89.31%, respectively. Findings suggest that all households in all study sites are dependent on the direct benefits provided by mangroves in terms of their fishery products. In Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), the results revealed that at 10% discount rate mangrove restoration provides a better outcome as the net present value of mangroves is relatively three times higher than that of the commercial aquaculture project. Moreover, the outcomes at 15% discount rate showed a negative net present value for the aquaculture project (Laguindingan: Php -7,382,064.07, Alubijid: Php -7,357,714.64, El Salvador: Php -7,504,192.52) while the mangroves remained to have a positive net present value. This means that the conversion of mangrove forests into commercial aquaculture is not economically efficient. Mangrove restoration investment draws more equity (better social welfare) for communities than aquaculture as aquaculture development benefits accrue mainly to private operators with much higher incremental social costs than intact mangrove ecosystems. published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES