<b>The Economic Value of Forest Ecosystem Services: Insights from Recreation and Ecotourism</b>

Given that funds for biodiversity conservation are limited, there is a need to understand people’s preferences for its different components. To date, such preferences have largely been measured in monetary terms. However, how people value biodiversity may differ from economic theory, and there is little consensus over whether monetary metrics are always appropriate or the degree to which other methods offer alternative and complementary perspectives on value. We used a choice experiment to compare monetary amounts recreational visitors to urban green spaces were willing to pay for biodiversity enhancement (increases in species richness for birds, plants, and aquatic macroinvertebrates) with self-reported psychological gains in well-being derived from visiting the same sites. Willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates were significant and positive, and respondents reported high gains in well-being across 3 axes derived from environmental psychology theories (reflection, attachment, continuity with past). The 2 metrics were broadly congruent. Participants with above-median self-reported well-being scores were willing to pay significantly higher amounts for enhancing species richness than those with below-median scores, regardless of taxon. The socio-economic and demographic background of participants played little role in determining either their well-being or the probability of choosing a paying option within the choice experiment. Site-level environmental characteristics were only somewhat related to WTP, but showed strong associations with self-reported well-being. Both approaches are likely to reflect a combination of the environmental properties of a site and unobserved individual preference heterogeneity for the natural world. Our results suggest that either metric will deliver mutually consistent results in an assessment of environmental preferences, although which approach is preferable depends on why one wishes to measure values for the natural world.

生态保护价值的距离衰减性——以三江平原湿地为例

Economical assessment of forest ecosystem services in China: Characteristics and implications

Mountain forest ecosystems provide a wide range of direct and indirect contributions to the people who live in the mountains and surrounding areas. Occupying steep slopes at high elevation, these ecosystems provide services such as stabilizing slopes, regulating hydrological cycles, maintaining rich biodiversity and supporting the livelihoods of those who are diverse in culture but vulnerable to poverty and food security. This paper (i) reviews several tools for assessing the sociocultural, economic and ecological values of mountain forest ecosystem services, (ii) demonstrates case studies of tool applications from several countries namely, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Iran and Nepal, and (iii) discusses assessment challenges that should be considered in the application of these tools.In Bhutan, an application of benefit transfer showed that the average total value of forest ecosystem services was over USD 14.5 billion per year. In India, an application of stakeholder and household analyses indicated that a total of 29 different ecosystem services are available and sustain livelihoods of local communities near the Maguri Mottapung wetland. In Indonesia, an application of Q methodology identified anticipated benefits and concerns of forest watershed stakeholders related to certification applications for a payment for ecosystem services. In Iran, an application of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs Tool showed that the regulation of ecosystem services has been declining in Hyrcanian forests despite the forests’ critical roles in the region. In Nepal, an application of a spatial analytical approach and participatory assessment techniques identified key mountain ecosystem services for community forests at the Charnawolti sub-watershed of Dolakha, and demonstrated forest restoration on degraded lands over the last two decades. Several challenges exist for the assessment of mountain forest ecosystem services and these must be reflected in assessment design. These challenges include the complexity of defining and classifying ecosystem services; limited availability of data on ecosystem services; uncertainties associated with climate change; complex relationships among services including trade-offs and synergies; and limitation of assessments to build successful payments for ecosystem services.Mountain forest ecosystems provide a wide range of direct and indirect contributions to the people who live in the mountains and surrounding areas. Occupying steep slopes at high elevation, these ecosystems provide services such as stabilizing slopes, regulating hydrological cycles, maintaining rich biodiversity and supporting the livelihoods of those who are diverse in culture but vulnerable to poverty and food security. This paper (i) reviews several tools for assessing the sociocultural, economic and ecological values of mountain forest ecosystem services, (ii) demonstrates case studies of tool applications from several countries namely, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Iran and Nepal, and (iii) discusses assessment challenges that should be considered in the application of these tools. In Bhutan, an application of benefit transfer showed that the average total value of forest ecosystem services was over USD 14.5 billion per year. In India, an application of stakeholder and household analyses indicated that a total of 29 different ecosystem services are available and sustain livelihoods of local communities near the Maguri Mottapung wetland. In Indonesia, an application of Q methodology identified anticipated benefits and concerns of forest watershed stakeholders related to certification applications for a payment for ecosystem services. In Iran, an application of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs Tool showed that the regulation of ecosystem services has been declining in Hyrcanian forests despite the forests’ critical roles in the region. In Nepal, an application of a spatial analytical approach and participatory assessment techniques identified key mountain ecosystem services for community forests at the Charnawolti sub-watershed of Dolakha, and demonstrated forest restoration on degraded lands over the last two decades. Several challenges exist for the assessment of mountain forest ecosystem services and these must be reflected in assessment design. These challenges include the complexity of defining and classifying ecosystem services; limited availability of data on ecosystem services; uncertainties associated with climate change; complex relationships among services including trade-offs and synergies; and limitation of assessments to build successful payments for ecosystem services.

The proper valuation of non-market environmental co mm odities has significant policy implications. Environmental valuation is also imp ortant in the event of natural disasters, either man-made or naturally occurrin g. The economic valuation of non-market environmental goods or ecosystem servi ces has been becoming a research frontier and hotspot field of ecological econom ics and environmental economics. Non-market valuation techniques should be appl ied to measure their economic value because of the public goods properties of mo st environmental goods or ecosystem services.Non-market valuation techniques can be broadly classified into two categories: revealed preference (RP) approaches and stated (or expressed) preference (SP) ap proaches. Stated preference methods attempt to elicit environmental values direc tly from respondents using survey techniques, hence the alternative name of “di rect approach”. Stated preference methods can be further classified into two ca tegories: contingent valuation method (CVM), and choice experiment. The CVM is t he most significant approach of non-market valuation technique and has been usi ng most widely. CVM is a direct interview approach that can be used to provide acceptable measu res of the economic value of environmental goods or ecosystem services. The CVM uses interview techniques ask individuals to place values on environmental goods or ecosystem services. The term “contingent” in CVM suggests that it is conti ngent on simulating a hypothetical market for the good in question. The most com mon approach in the CVM is to ask individuals the maximum amount of money they a re willingness to pay(WTP)to use or to preserve the given good or service. Alt ernatively, the respondents could be asked the minimum amount of money they are willingness to accept in compensation (WTA) to forgo the given environmental goo d or service. Theoretically, these two measures should be equivalent. However, s ome empirical studies have indicated that WTA estimates exceed WTP estimates, th is is maybe due to the feelings that the cost they loss the given good or servic e is more than the benefit they get the given good or service.This paper introduced the concept of CVM and the status of its development and a pplication, analyzed the significance of CVM in environmental evaluation methods and its theoretical underpinning, summarized the available elicitation techniqu es or the question formats that acquire maximum WTP, assembled together various biases and their solutions, and introduced briefly the statistical analysis meth ods of contingent valuation (CV) survey data, especially the dichotomous choices data.In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the statistical aspects of CV survey design and data analysis. The main reason for the growing interests in statistical issues is the shift in CV practice from using open-ended questi on to ask about WTP to using a close-ended question format. With the close-end ed question format, the CV responses are not money amount but answers of “yes” or “no”, and one obtains a WTP value from these responses by introducing a st atistical model that links them to the money amounts that people faced in the su rvey. The theory and practice research of CVM in China was almost equal to naught. Fin ally, the urgent research need of CVM in China was pointed out because of the ne ed of green environmental and economic accounting and sustainable development as sessment.

Knowing economic value of ecosystem services makes it possible to identify the importance of ecosystems and their services, with which better decisions that have an impact on social well-being are expected. The objective of the study was to estimate the economic value of water ecosystem services (ES), from the Cachi basin.The novelty of the study lies in the application of a complete study of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), the Willingness to Pay (WTP) and the Willingness to Accept (WTA) were estimated. According to surveys carried out, 90.6% of the producers in the Cachi basin are WTP, 9.4% are not WTP for economic reasons. On the other hand, 92% of the inhabitants of the high Andean areas are WTA, only 8% do not accept an economic incentive, due to disagreements with the Regional Government of Ayacucho. The econometric results of the logit model showed that the producers are WTP, at most S/ 74.87/ha/campaign (19.50 USD), for the conservation of the hydrological ES for agricultural porpuses. While the inhabitants of the highland areas of the Cachi basin are WTA, the minimum amount of S/162.05 ha/bofedal/monthly (42.21 USD), in exchange for conserving the wetlands and pastures of the Cachi basin headwaters. It is concluded, the producers are WTP for obtaining continuity and quality of the supply of water for agricultural use, and they are WTA for the conservation and recovery of natural water sources. Putting these results into practice would contribute to the sustainability of the water supply in the high Andean areas, guaranteeing the provision of water resources to current and future generations in times of drought.

This study aims to analyze the willingness to pay visitors for the quality improvement of Baru Beach. The respondents of this research are visitors in Baru Beach. This study uses the contingent valuation method (CVM). Accidental techniques were used to collect data from 150 tourists in Baru Beach. This paper found that the average value of willingness to pay (WTP) is IDR15,000 obtained using dichotomous choice. In addition, variables of age, income, education level, frequency of visits, and visitor perceptions were positive to WTP. Distance and marital status have no significant effect.

Sub-Artic ecosystems have evolved and adapted to extreme environmental condition. Yet, these ecosystems are vulnerable to local and global impacts due to human activities and climate change. In addition, a controversial debate over land use in the Swedish Lapland is still open, involving different stakeholders’ interests and activities. The Abisko National Park (Swedish sub-Arctic Lapland) is one of the Europe’s largest remaining wilderness areas and an important tourist attraction. In this study, an economic valuation of the main ecosystem services (ES) was performed by using the Contingent Valuation (CV) method. The categories of ES generated in the Park were identified and tourists were chosen as main stakeholders in the area. Tourists were then interviewed about their perception on ES and their willingness to pay (WTP) for supporting conservation activities capable of preserving the functionality of the Park to provide different goods and services. Results show that 61% of the respondents were willing to pay for the implementation of adaptation strategies coping with climate change impact. The mean individual WTP were found to be 6.20 € for the provisioning services, 5.69 € for the regulating services, 6.35 € for supporting services, 4.09 € for cultural services, while the total mean WTP per tourist was found to be 22.33 €. In addition, statistically significant correlations between tourists’ perceptions and individual WTP for three ES categories were found. These outcomes could support local decision makers in charge for the implementation of climate change adaptation strategies in the Park. However, it is important to remark that for a more comprehensive assessment of ecosystem services and their role in support of human well-being, the economic valuation should be integrated by a solid biophysical accounting.

ABSTRACTAlthough recreational planning in national parks has long taken visitor characteristics and perceptions into consideration, economic valuation to date has not been part of such planning. Our study applies economic valuation for recreational planning in the Horton Plains National Park (HPNP) in Sri Lanka. The study, using a pretested questionnaire, interviewed 188 respondents in order to identify existing visitor satisfaction levels as well as visitor perceptions on available facilities. The existing visitor satisfaction at HPNP was 54%. Two alternative recreational scenarios were, therefore, developed based on visitor perceptions on how to enhance visitor satisfaction at the park. A hypothetical travel cost method and contingent valuation method (CVM) were used to estimate (1) the welfare benefits in terms of consumer surplus and (2) the demand in terms of willingness to pay (WTP) for the proposed recreational scenarios. The sample size for the economic study was 352 respondents. The per-visitor welfare benefits were financially valued at Sri Lanka Rupees (SLR) 3794 (USD 1 = SLR 130) and SLR 7045 for scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. These values show a 15 to 30 times increase from the existing value of the welfare benefits. The net present value of benefits also increased from SLR 516.8 million to SLR 5296.92 million and SLR 9835.73 million under scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. Under CVM, the estimated mean WTP values were SLR 132.00 and SLR 190.32 under scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. These values can be used as a tool for revising pricing policies at HPNP. Visitors' response to the proposed recreational scenarios suggests the need for planners to institute proper recreational schemes to enhance the welfare benefits of visitors. The study underscores the role economic valuation can play in policy decisions relating to recreational planning in national parks.

Coastal and marine ecosystems deliver critical ecological and economic benefits. This study evaluates ecosystem services from Toucheng and Suao fishery resource conservation zones (FRCZs) within a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Taiwan's Yilan region, using the contingent valuation method (CVM). Public willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation is influenced by factors such as age (AGE), income (INC), environmental organization participation (EPO), perceived conservation importance (IMP), and number of children (CHI), reflecting sustainability awareness. The estimated total economic value (TEV) of ecosystem services is NT$215.40 million (US$6.51 million) annually within the MPA, and NT$1,489.28 million (US$44.98 million) across the Yilan region. We further calculate the economic value (EV) for different ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural) based on respondents' WTP. The results show provisioning services have the highest EV (26.90%) with NT$891.44 yearly, followed by supporting services (25.39%) with NT$841.73. Regulating services are valued at NT$831.79 (25.10%), while cultural services are the least valued, with NT$748.94 (22.61%). These findings inform strategies for optimizing ecosystem service management in the region. Policymakers may prioritize high-value services, such as provisioning (e.g., sustainable harvesting) and supporting functions (e.g., habitat conservation), in line with public preferences. Concurrently, efforts should address lower-valued services, including regulating and cultural functions, through awareness initiatives or balanced investment across different service types.

Willingness to pay for public health services in rural Central Java, Indonesia: Methodological considerations when using the contingent valuation method

South Sulawesi Province has many interesting tourist destinations to be visited by local and foreign tourists which present lots of beautiful oceans, mountainous nature, local wisdom, customs, traditions, and culinary tourism. Tourism is one of the affairs that can be managed by the Regional Government. This is the main reason researchers are interested in analyzing the valuation of the economic value of Rammang-Rammang in Maros Regency. This research is quantitative research with a survey method, namely conducting field observations and direct interviews with respondents using questionnaires as a data collection tool which is then analyzed quantitatively. The economic value of the rammang-rammang natural tourist attraction for the Environmental Services Produced is based on Direct Use Value (use value) as measured by the Travel Cost Method (TCM) approach for Domestic Visitors totaling 49,979 people in 2022, namely IDR. 65,228,992,312,- Per Year, with an Average Travel Cost (ATC) for Respondents of IDR. 1,305,128,- / Person Per Visit. The economic value of the rammang-rammang natural tourist attraction for the environmental services produced based on non-use value is measured using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) by asking about visitors' willingness to pay (Willingness to Pay) voluntarily. Domestic, totaling 49,979 people in 2022, which is Rp. 5. 968,558,819,- Per Year, with an Average Willingness to Pay Value of Respondents of IDR. 122,564,-/person Per Visit. Total Economic Value of the rammang-rammang natural tourist attraction for the Environmental Services produced based on the Direct Use Value (use value) measured using the Travel Cost Approach (Travel Cost Method, TCM) and Non-Use Value (Nonuse value) measured using the method ( Contingent Valuation Method, CVM) by asking individuals' willingness to pay voluntarily for domestic visitors totaling 49,979 people in 2022, namely IDR. 71,197,551,130.7,- Per Year. Potential Revenue Amount for Plastering Rammang-Rammang Natural Tourism Objects based on Voluntary Willingness to Pay (WTP) of visitors for Domestic visitors in 2022, totaling 49,979 people excluding the Entry Price (HTM), which is IDR. 71,197,551,130.7,- Per Year. If it coincides, the number of domestic visitors in 2023 will be 40,551 people, based on the average value of domestic visitors in 2021-2022, then the value of willingness to pay domestic visitors voluntarily to participate in preserving nature in 2023 will be IDR. 4,842,654,488,- Per Year, excluding Entry Ticket Price (HTP)

The valuation of ecosystem services has become increasingly relevant due to the intricate relationship between humans and ecosystems. In the Piatra Craiului National Park (LTER Bucegi-Piatra Craiului site), rapid environmental changes and growing anthropogenic pressures on forest resources necessitate a robust understanding of ecosystem services' value. This study investigates two key aspects: the monetary and non-monetary valuation of forest ecosystem services and the interconnections between these valuations and biophysical variables. the monetary and non-monetary valuation of forest ecosystem services and the interconnections between these valuations and biophysical variables. Primary statistical analyses were conducted using the R PASTECS package, revealing notable variability in monetary (141%) and non-monetary (62%) values across management units. Data sources included Forest Management Plans and geospatial analyses derived from photograph datasets. Monetary values ranged from €34 to over €570,000 per management unit, while non-monetary kernel scores ranged from 1 to 5. Correlations were identified between monetary values and carbon stock, stand volume, and other biophysical metrics, highlighting stronger relationships compared to those involving non-monetary metrics, such as altitude and flora type. A social-media-based approach provided additional insights into the cultural dimensions of ecosystem services, engaging stakeholders and fostering broader public awareness. This integrated methodology underscores the need to balance economic and ecological perspectives in natural resource management. The findings contribute to adaptive management strategies by aligning long-term ecological research with actionable policy recommendations, ultimately promoting sustainable resource use and conservation efforts in the Southern Carpathians.

Stated preference method is usually used to evaluate the non-market value of environmental goods which includes contingent valuation method (CVM) and choice experiments (CE). In this paper, stated preference method was adopted to evaluate the non-market value of Sanjiang Plain wetland. A willingness to pay (WTP) evaluation model of stated preference method was constructed based on the random utility theory. The average WTP of CVM and CE was obtained, respectively. The average WTP elicited by CE was 379 yuan per year, and the marginal WTPs of different selection properties including water conservation, wetland area, natural landscape and biodiversity were114.00, 72.55, 59.55 and 37.09 yuan per year, respectively. Meanwhile, the average WTP elicited by CVM was 134 yuan per year. The influence of factors on WTP was analyzed and reasons for protest responses were discussed. Results showed that the respondents' WTP elicited by CE was signi-ficantly higher than that by CVM, and respondents' socio-economic attitudes such as level of education and personal annual income had a significant positive impact on respondents' WTP. There were no significant difference in the reasons of protest responses between CVM and CE. Besides, respondents' multiple attributes and multiple levels analysis could be carried out by CE and the WTP of wetland's selection attributes could be calculated. Therefore, CE had the better ability of revealing respondents' preference information than CVM and its assessment results were more close to the actual value.

初始投标值数量和样本容量对双边界二分式CVM的影响