Scope and scale in valuing coastal management in the remote Kimberley region of Australia

Abstract

The Kimberley region in northern Western Australia is well known for its impressive coastal landscapes, unique marine ecosystems, its Aboriginal heritage and culture, and its rich minerals and metals deposits. To inform future management of Kimberley coastal waters, a discrete choice experiment was undertaken to estimate the values that Western Australians attach to different management outcomes in the Kimberley. These management outcomes (marine reserves, aboriginal values, recreational facilities and development) were made spatially explicit to show respondent in what regions of the Kimberley outcomes would occur. A split sample design was used to estimate values for the Kimberley region as a whole, and for two separate smaller sub-regions. This choice experiment design allows us to test for scope sensitivity, which has not been explored much in the choice experiment literature. This study is one of the few discrete choice experiments that explores scope effects for environmental non-market valuation. Willingness to pay results show similar estimates between the two smaller sub-regions. Willingness to pay for the attributes increased when management occurs at the larger geographical scope. However, it was less sensitive to changes in attribute scale. We contribute to the literature on exploring scope effects for environmental non-market valuation using discrete choice experiments in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.