Economic benefits of large-scale remediation of contaminated marine sediments—a literature review and an application to the Grenland fjords in Norway

Abstract

As input to a cost-benefit analysis of large-scale remediation measures of contaminated sediments in the Grenland fjords in Norway, we conducted a contingent valuation (CV) survey of a representative sample of households from municipalities adjacent to these fjords. The CV method aimed at valuing the benefits perceived by households of removing dietary health advisories on seafood consumption currently in place through the fjords. Mean household willingness-to-pay (WTP) per year over a 10-year period was found to decrease with increased distance from the Grenland fjords and was somewhat higher than in a similar study conducted 10 years earlier than our study. Aggregating mean WTP over all households in neighbouring municipalities to the fjords resulted in total economic benefits of the same magnitude as the total remediation costs. The WTP results make the case in such a way that the high costs of remediation of contaminated marine sediments can be defended by the large economic benefits generated for households around the fjord. The research was financed by the local environmental authorities and the local industry that had caused the contaminated sediments. The WTP results were strongly contested by the industry upon completion of the study. The paper addresses the industry's critiques of this particular CV study and discusses how to better inform local stakeholders about the potential and limitations of the CV method and how to improve communication of economic valuation results.