Valuation of Ecosystem Services: Insight From Lake Malombe, Malawi

Abstract Lake Malombe is endowed with a variety of ecosystem services (ES) that have a considerable economic value. This study used, a combination of market-based and value transfer techniques to evaluate the lake ES. The results showed that the annual economic value of Lake Malombe ES is estimated at US$ 40.68million, equivalent to US$635.63/hh/yr. The ecosystem provisioning service (EPS) is ranked the highest (87.45%) in terms of contribution, followed by biodiversity (8.64%), flood regulation (3.70%) then carbon sequestration, culture, and aesthetic services. The ES quality index ranks culture and aesthetic services as the lowest suggesting that investment in the tourism industry in Lake Malombe is not much advanced. Although this study did not take into account all ES components such as non-use values and other regulatory services, the estimated total annual ES value of US$ 40.68million derived from Lake Malombe provides a strong basis for a need to design an economic incentive model to encourage the local communities to take responsibility for managing the lake. Any decline in the supply of ES can eventually worsen poverty and push the local population to desperately over depend on EPS and degrade even the areas deemed to be conserved for future generations thereby creating a vicious circle of poverty and ecosystem disservices. This study provides a significant insight into the trade-offs between ES and diverse stakeholders. Balancing the interest of local communities given the importance of EPS in sustaining their livelihoods and that of global communities is required to effectively manage the lake.