THE VALUE OF INVESTING IN WETLANDS FOR NITROGEN ABATEMENT

The values of nitrogen abatement through measures involving investment in wetlands, sewage treatment plants and agriculture are calculated a nd compared. The analytical results show that the marginal value of in vestment in wetlands, including current and future utility, is likely to exceed that of other measures, due to two factors; the joint produc tion of several environmental services and the net natural growth in t he capacity to produce these services. The multifunctionality implies that, in addition to nitrogen abatement, other outputs such as bufferi ng of water and biodiversity are produced jointly and the growth in we tlands, or the self organizing capacity, implies an increase in the su pply of future outputs. Empirical results for Gotland an area with a h igh concentration of nitrate in the groundwater, suggest that the valu e of investment in wetlands could significantly exceed that of sewage treatment plants.