In terms of decision-making, where the impacts of ecosystem management decisions are presented in purely physical, qualitative terms – such as in an Environmental Impact Assessment – a considerable layer of subjectivity can cloud the debate concerning the merits of economic utilisation versus preservation of environmental resources (Dixon et al., 2013). Although CBA can provide a standardised means of evaluating the benefits and costs of projects and policies, distorted welfare outcomes will result if studies fail to capture all of the costs or benefits of a project or policy, including environmental impacts such as the loss of or change in quality of ecosystem services (Atkinson and Mourato, 2008, Koundouri et al., 2009 and Dixon et al., 2013). Failure to do so results eventually in an implied valuation of environmental resources by virtue of the outcomes arrived at by decision-makers