Socioeconomic assessment of the restoration of highly modified coastal ecosystems by mining activities

Highly modified coasts are associated to sub-optimal provision of ecosystem services, causing biodiversity losses and negative impacts on social welfare. Although ecological arguments can justify the restoration of coastal environments, technical, social and economic issues often pose complex obstacles to implement efficient restorations. Indeed, there is a lack of socioeconomic assessments in both academic literature and policy decision-making showing whether the restoration of highly modified coasts are socially acceptable and economically efficient. This paper presents the case of the Portmán Bay (SE Spain), described as the most polluted coastal area by mining activities in the entire Mediterranean region. The question on how to restore the bay has been under debate for decades and there is not social and political consensus about its restoration yet. Our results suggest that, in terms of social preferences and net benefits, the preferred alternative would be to recover the coast and improve habitat continuity between the bay and other adjacent natural areas. Development of other economic activities incompatible with natural conservation could only compensate social welfare losses by increasing public taxation on private sector. Our results confirm that, once social preferences are taken into account, the restoration of heavily modified coastal ecosystems can be economically efficient even though it implies significant technical constraints and high public expenditures.