Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Aquatic Ecosystem Services in Karnataka, India

Wetlands are productive ecosystems providing an array of services that sustain the well-being of dependent biota. The industrialization and globalization era witnessed a spurt in anthropogenic activities, leading to the degradation and decline of fragile ecosystems, affecting the livelihood of the dependent population. This necessitates the conservation of vital ecosystems through sustainable management tenets, which requires an understanding of the livelihood support of ecosystems. Now, many wetlands are degraded due to increasing pollution and a lack of awareness among the public about the economic value of wetland ecosystems. Thus, the current chapter focuses on the valuation of provisioning, regulating, and cultural services through the residual value and resource rent method and the benefit transfer method from aquatic ecosystems in Karnataka, India. The value of provisioning, regulating, and cultural services provided by freshwater lentic ecosystems in Karnataka are 50, 197, and 38 billion rupees/year, respectively. The total ecosystem supply value (TESV) provided by the freshwater ecosystem of Karnataka is 285 billion rupees/year, and the net present value (NPV) amounted to 7321 billion rupees. Similarly, the value of services provided by the estuarine ecosystem in Karnataka are 5, 10, and 1 billion rupees/year from the provisioning, regulating, and cultural services, respectively. The TESV provided by the estuarine ecosystem of Karnataka is 16 billion rupees/year, and NPV amounted to 411 billion rupees. The total value of provisioning, regulating, and cultural services considering both freshwater and estuarine ecosystems was 55 billion Rs/yr (183,328 Rs/ha/yr), 207 billion Rs/yr (691,577 Rs/ha/yr), and 39 billion Rs/yr (130,686 Rs/ha/yr), respectively. The total ecosystem supply value of Karnataka aquatic ecosystem was 301 billion Rs/yr (1,005,591 Rs/ha/yr) and the net present value amounts to 7732 billion rupees. This highlights the importance of wetlands in ecological, social-cultural, and environmental aspects. Appraisal of ecosystem services (ES) allows for adjusted national accounts, which reflect the output of ecosystem services as well as the depletion of natural resources and the degradation costs (externalized costs of the loss of ecosystem services) of ecosystems in economic terms, which will help raise awareness and provide a quantitative tool to evaluate the sustainability of policies toward prudent management and conservation of fragile livelihood supporting ecosystems. The monetary valuation of ecosystem services can help in building a better understanding of their influence on well-being and can further facilitate information-driven decisions and policy reforms that align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the wise use of natural resources. Natural capital accounting research, involving the quantification of services provided by wetlands and insights into economic values, would help in devising prudent policies for wetland restoration, conservation, and management. This will, in turn, aid in the sustainable development of a region through the wise use of natural resources.