Spatial heterogeneity of preferences for improvements in river basin ecosystem services and its validity for benefit transfer

Abstract

Improvements in the ecological attributes of inland rivers have been projected to provide considerable non-market benefits, and the monetary value of these attributes has steadily increased over the past several decades. The present study addresses the comparison between welfare estimates for changes in the conservation of river basins and improvements in various attributes of these basins. Furthermore, by comparing the transfer error, this paper examines the feasibility of transferring benefits across populations and sites; this paper also determines the impacts of spatial heterogeneity on the welfare estimates. This study reveals that the estimated benefits are higher for the lower basin than for the middle and upper basins, and respondent preferences for relative improvements in environmental attributes vary across the basins. To consider spatial heterogeneity, a spatially explicit choice experiment was used to estimate the transfer errors. The results from the random parameter logit model (RPL) reveal that the inclusion of taste variation reduces the transfer errors that in turn make the benefit transfer applicable. The transfer errors are 15% when benefits are transferred between the upper and middle basins, while transfer errors are 16% when benefits are transferred from the upper basin to the lower basin. The results suggest that the non-market benefits of the river restoration policy are transferable between the upper and middle basins and from the upper basin to the lower basin. Our results have practical implications that can inform efforts to improve ecosystem services. The results are relevant to the policy specifically in terms of a cost-benefit assessment of the management strategy as well as understanding public support for the policy.