Conservation of Marine Biodiversity within the Framework of Impure Public Goods

Conservation of Marine Biodiversity within the Framework of Impure Public Goods

Since the early days when Adam Smith coined the term “invisible hand of the market” in his magnum opus, The Wealth of Nations, it was typically believed among the general population that all goods can be distributed without any interference from the government. Contrary to the popular belief, however, this applies specifically to private goods, i.e. a type of good that is both rivalrous and excludable. It may seem that marine biodiversity is a type of public good, since they are in the vast ocean and everyone is entitled to their ownership. However, many marine biodiversity have tremendous economic values, and one person using it may constitute as another person not being able to use it. Thus, it is best described by the term “impure public goods”. Impure public goods, also known as “mixed public goods”, are “public goods whose benefits are particularly rival and/or partially excludable” and provides both private and public benefits. (Squires, Mixed Goods, 59) “International environmental public goods generate benefits that spill over national borders, so that the benefits (or costs) of those goods extend beyond the country of origin.” (Arriagada and Perrings, 800) Since many biodiversity, such as dolphins and coral reefs, are important to the public and yet could be exploited by citizen of any country, it is important for different countries’ governments to cooperate and conserve the marine biodiversity together. The conservation of marine biodiversity will depend on the externalities that are associated with impure public goods, and slo the technolog of public good supplies. We will also look at the incentives to conserve marine biodiversity in t...

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...hrow off the balance of the ecosystem. Different marine biodiversity requires different types of ways to conserve them, some need government and some do not. Depending on the different types of technology of public goods supplied, there are different ways to and different methods to preserve the marine biodiversity. We have looked at the different types of externalities that are associated with impure public goods (in this case marine biodiversity). We also looked at the three types of technology of public good supplies and see why it affects marine biodiversity. Lastly, we have discussed the incentives to conserve marine biodiversity, both private solutions and public solutions. To put it briefly, “wildlife exploitation and conservation involves various costs and benefits, which should all be taken into account to achieve an optimal outcome.” (Bulte, 1)