Evaluating Ecosystem Service Valuation for Mangrove Forests in Akwa Ibom State, South South Nigeria

Mangrove ecosystems in Akwa Ibom State provide a suite of ecosystem services including fisheries support, coastal protection, carbon sequestration, and timber supply, yet these services remain unquantified in state-level environmental management decisions. This study applied market and non-market valuation methods to estimate the economic value of selected ecosystem services provided by mangrove forests in two local government areas of Akwa Ibom State. Services assessed included fish nursery habitat value, coastal storm buffering, above-ground carbon stock value using current carbon market prices, and non-timber forest product supply. Data were collected through household surveys, participatory resource mapping, mangrove biomass inventories, and secondary fisheries statistics. Results showed total annual ecosystem service value estimates ranging from approximately 1.2 million to 3.8 million naira per hectare per year depending on valuation method, with fisheries support and coastal protection constituting the largest value components. Carbon stock value was substantial at current voluntary carbon market prices. Local fishing communities were found to derive 42 percent of household income directly from mangrove-associated fisheries. The study argues that explicit ecosystem service valuation provides an economic rationale for incorporating mangrove conservation into state spatial planning policies and recommends integration of these values into environmental impact assessment frameworks for coastal development projects in Akwa Ibom State. Keywords: ecosystem services, mangrove valuation, Akwa Ibom, coastal ecology, economic valuation.