Abstract
While the district of Mae Moh, Thailand has been well known for its atmospheric pollution associated with coal power production, economic assessment of demand for improved air quality has not been conducted to date. This study estimated local residents’ individual and aggregate willingness to pay (WTP) for mitigation of atmospheric pollution in Mae Moh using the contingent valuation method (CVM), and analyzed the factors associated with the individual WTP using the bivariate tobit and double-hurdle regression techniques. Primary data were collected through face-to-face interviews with a stratified sample of 200 residents. The hypothetical scenarios used in the CVM module were 50% and 80% mitigation of atmospheric concentrations of major pollutants. The weighted average WTP was found to be THB 251.3 and 307.9 per annum (USD 8.4 and 10.3) for the 50% and 80% reduction scenarios, respectively. The aggregate WTP for the entire population of Mae Moh was THB 10,008,733 and 12,264,761 per annum (USD 336,294 and 412,096), respectively. Education, occupation type, income, expenses, satisfaction with ambient quality, and perceived sources of pollution had significant associations with the individual WTP. The paper concludes by discussing policy implications for atmospheric pollution management and avenues for future research.
Highlights
A clean atmosphere is an essential natural resource for sustaining life on the surface of Earth
The atmospheric concentration of major pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), CO, SO2, NO2, and O3 has been rising at an alarming rate in many parts of the world
The average annual income was THB 96,180 per annum (USD 3232), while the average annual expenditure was THB 111,372 per annum (USD 3742). This suggests that many households in Mae Moh needed to borrow money from external sources in order to survive, which might lead to debt accumulation over time
Summary
A clean atmosphere is an essential natural resource for sustaining life on the surface of Earth. Atmospheric pollution is considered one of the world’s most serious environmental concerns associated with health risks, especially in developing countries [1]. The World Health Organization estimated that atmospheric pollution was responsible for over six million premature deaths worldwide in 2016 [2]. The atmospheric concentration of major pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), CO, SO2, NO2, and O3 has been rising at an alarming rate in many parts of the world. One of the major causes of the aggravation of this pollution is fossil fuel combustion activities for energy generation purposes, among other causes. It is estimated that around 70% of the total global energy consumption comes from coal resources [3], whereas excessive fuel combustion processes and inappropriately managed construction activities are the major causes of atmospheric pollution [4]. Epidemiological research on the health impacts of atmospheric pollution has revealed a strong correlation between concentrations of pollutants and respiratory disorders and cardiovascular diseases [5,6,7,8]
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