Challenges with ecosystem service valuation for the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Background/Question/Methods: The unprecedented magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill presented significant challenges for those tasked with assessing the impacts of the spill. Evaluating changes to ecosystem services—the benefits people receive from natural resources and processes—caused by the oil spill could expand the potential to capture and value the full breadth of impacts to the ecosystem and the public. This study assessed the methods and metrics that could help scientists effectively evaluate ecosystem services.

Results/Conclusions: Implementing an “ecosystem service approach” offers a broader opportunity to capture, value, and appropriately restore the full breadth of impacts to the ecosystem and the public. This approach to damage assessment, however, requires an understanding of the complex linkages amongst various ecosystem components, including the impact of humans on the structure and function of the ecosystem, the resulting changes in ecosystem services, and how these changes affect human well-being.

It will take many years to fully understand the long-term effects and impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but efforts are underway to assess the damages caused by the event and develop appropriate restoration projects. Given the vast amount of data collected and research currently being conducted in the Gulf of Mexico, we believe that efforts to apply an ecosystem services approach will result in an improved understanding of the full suite of impacts of the oil spill and lead to additional options for restoration of the ecosystem.