Online Seminar Series - Conversations from the Coast - Starting tomorrow.

[Ivan Haigh]

Hi Everyone,

Just a reminder our new online seminar series called “Conversations from the Coast” starts tomorrow (Thursday, April 16th) from 12:00 to 13:00 ET

Sergio Alvarez will be discussing how ecosystem services support the tourism economy and how natural hazards can disrupt it. You can find a summary below. 

If you haven’t registered yet, please do so here: https://lnkd.in/eh6hXMXC.

Thanks,

Ivan

📌 Seminar Title: The Pulse of the Tourism Economy: Valuing Ecosystem Services to Estimate the Economic Impact of Hazard Events

Summary: Coastal ecosystems, such as coral reefs, beaches, and estuaries, support tourism economies worth billions of dollars. Yet quantifying the true economic impact when these ecosystems are damaged by hazards like hurricanes or harmful algal blooms remains a major challenge. In this talk, Sergio will discuss the theory and practice behind ecosystem services valuation, highlighting why global estimates often fall short and how economists have traditionally approached measuring ecosystem value. He will then introduce an innovative empirical method that uses publicly available economic data to capture the “pulse” of Florida’s coastal tourism economy. By analyzing sector-level revenue data across Florida counties, this approach provides a scalable way to detect economic shifts linked to disturbances such as tropical cyclones and harmful algal blooms—offering new insights into the real-world consequences of ecosystem degradation.

About the Speaker: Dr. Alvarez is an economist at the University of Central Florida, affiliated with the Sustainable Coastal Systems Cluster and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. His research focuses on how natural resources and ecosystems contribute to human well-being through services such as tourism, recreation, and coastal protection. Before joining UCF in 2018, he served as Chief Economist at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, where he worked on policy and economic analysis related to agriculture, natural resources, and environmental management.

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Prof Ivan Haigh

Professor in Coastal Oceanography
Ocean and Earth Science
National Oceanography Centre
University of Southampton

Address:
National Oceanography Centre
University of Southampton
European Way
Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK

p: +44(0) 2380 59 6501
f:  +44(0) 2380 59 3059
e:  i.d....@soton.ac.uk
w: http://www.ivanhaigh.com
w: http://www.surgewatch.org
w: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/oes/coastal

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=B7OT9ZAAAAAJ&hl=en