Identifying and Quantifying the Economic Value of Coastal Ecosystem Services According to the Perceptions of Papuan Indigenous Peoples in Jayapura City, Papua Province, Indonesia

Coastal ecosystem services (CES) are benefits obtained by humans in the form of goods and services from coastal ecosystems. CES assessment is an important instrument for increasing appreciation and awareness public of the benefits and services produced by coastal ecosystems. This study aims to identify and quantify the economic value of CES (mangrove, coral reefs, and seagrass ecosystems) in the coastal areas of Jayapura City based on the perceptions of Papuan indigenous peoples. Data collection was conducted in March to April 2018 using the direct interview method based on the questionnaire to 228 respondents in Enggros, Tobati, and Nafri Villages, as well as 3 dive tourism businesses in Jayapura City. The CES value in Jayapura City is estimated to be around USD 5,424,116.49/year, which consists of service values of mangrove, coral reefs, and seagrasses ecosystems that are USD 4,444,707.00/year or USD 19,066.18/ha/year, USD 424,333.06/year or USD 11,303.49/ha/year, and USD 555,076.43/year or 5,008.36/ha/year, respectively. The service value of mangrove ecosystems is higher than that of coral reefs and seagrass ecosystems, especially in the value of direct benefits (fishery products) felt by the community. The value of CES as a provider of fishery products is quite high because of the high desire of the community to exploit and utilize natural resources such as fish, crabs, shrimp, and shellfish in coastal ecosystems to improve community welfare. Therefore, with the description of the CES value in this study, good coastal ecosystem management and integrated coastal area development policies are needed to maintain the quality of the environment and the sustainability of coastal ecosystems, as well as efforts to increase public awareness of the importance of coastal ecosystems that play an important role in improving welfare Papuan people.