Valuing unfamiliar Mediterranean deep-sea ecosystems using visual Q-methodology

Raffaele Zanoli (), Lorenzo Carlesi, Roberto Danovaro, Serena Mandolesi and Simona Naspetti

Marine Policy, 2015, vol. 61, issue C, 227-236

Abstract: Monetary valuation of non-market environmental goods and services such as marine ecosystems is a difficult task, usually approached by stated preference methods. Valuation results are often unstable since preferences for unfamiliar, often highly abstract and complex environmental goods depend on the level of previous knowledge of the participant stakeholders and the information provided to them. In this paper, Q methodology has been applied to explore subjective perspectives on Mediterranean deep sea, which is among the least explored environment in the world. The participant sample consisted in eight Ph.D. students, half of which with a Marine Life Sciences degree. They were asked to perform a Q-sorting experiment, and rank a Q sample of 36 underwater photographs of the marine wildlife, landscapes, and ecosystems in the Mediterranean deep sea. Photographs were sorted by each topic according to a subjective priority relative to (a) a personal overall view; (b) their perception of the potential interest for fishermen; and (c) as if they were fishermen. The study revealed three distinct discourses on the subjective importance of deep-sea ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: “Noah’s Ark Fans”, “Ecosystem Functions Supporters” and “Deep Coral Lovers”. Data analysis showed that the main differences between factors could be related to the experience and the cultural background of the participants. This study improved our knowledge about individuals’ perceptions on Mediterranean deep-sea ecosystems and represents a preliminary step for their monetary valuation.

Keywords: Integrated ocean management; Valuation; Q-methodology; Stakeholder preferences; Deep-sea ecosystem services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15002286
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:marpol:v:61:y:2015:i:c:p:227-236

DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2015.08.009

Access Statistics for this article

Marine Policy is currently edited by Eddie Brown

More articles in Marine Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().