Unraveling local preferences and willingness to pay for different management scenarios: A choice experiment to biosphere reserve management

Nekane Castillo-Eguskitza, David Hoyos, Miren Onaindia and Mikolaj Czajkowski

Land Use Policy, 2019, vol. 88, issue C

Abstract: Economic valuation of ecosystem services has emerged as a valuable tool to promote conservation and sustainable land management. Our study adds to this literature, by reporting the results of a discrete choice experiment used to analyse local population preferences and willingness-to-pay for selected ecosystem services resulting from different management scenarios in the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve (Biscay, Spain). The ecosystem services considered include quality of water bodies, agricultural production, native forest protection, biodiversity, and recreation. The results indicate that the local population is willing to financially support a new management plan focused on the improvement of ecosystem health and landscape multifunctionality and sustainability, with recreation being the least valued ecosystem service. These findings may be used to inform conservation and management policies to maximize social well-being. They can also help to prioritize investments and allocation of funding and hence minimise land use conflicts.

Keywords: Ecosystem services; Discrete choice experiment; Social preferences; Economic valuation; Urdaibai biosphere reserve (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Working Paper: Unraveling local preferences and willingness to pay for different management scenarios: A choice experiment to Biosphere Reserve management (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:88:y:2019:i:c:s0264837718304368

DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104200

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