Costs of environmental degradation: An analysis in the Middle East and North Africa region

TLDR: In this article, the authors provide estimates of damage cost for several areas of the environment, in particular: to estimate the cost of degradation as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) at the national level; to enhance local capacity in environmental economics; and to provide an input to inter-sectoral environmental priority setting.

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide estimates of damage cost for several areas of the environment. In particular: to estimate the cost of degradation as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) at the national level; to enhance local capacity in environmental economics, in particular in the valuation of environmental degradation; and to provide an input to inter‐sectoral environmental priority setting.Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the above objectives a framework was developed to estimate the cost of environmental degradation in seven countries in the region, for six categories. Estimates reflect order of magnitude and therefore represent an indication of actual damage costs. A range of estimates was provided to reflect the uncertainty of the results. Damage costs are presented in annual values (in local currencies, in US$ dollars) and as a per cent of GDP. Expressing costs as a share of GDP provides a sense of magnitude and will allow cross‐country comparison.Findings – The d...