Abstract
Habitat loss and degradation are recognised as the most important causes of species decline and extinction in marine ecosystems. It is also widely recognised that a range of restoration actions are now essential to halt further decline. From a policy perspective, demonstration that restoration activity is in the interest of society is an important goal. In this paper, the welfare impacts of restoring Norwegian kelp forests to areas where they once were dominant but which now lie barren are estimated using the discrete choice modelling approach. The paper also examines if more direct contact with the environmental good under investigation influences respondents' willingness to pay to restore ecosystem features. The results indicate a positive and significant marginal societal willingness to pay for the ecosystem services associated with kelp forest restoration. The enhanced biodiversity levels as a result of the restoration activity are the most highly valued by the Norwegian public although the size of the area restored is more highly valued by respondents who are active marine environment users. It is argued that without incorporating these non-market values into the decision making process marine policy decisions may be made that are not in fact in the best interest of society.
Highlights
Kelp forests are extensive, underwater habitats that dominate sub tidal shallow rocky coasts contributing to their production, biodiversity and functioning in temperate to polar parts of the world (Araújo et al, 2016; Filbee-Dexter and Wernberg, 2018)
The Conditional Logit (CL) model relies on the independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) assumption which states that the ratio of choice probabilities between any two alternatives in a choice card is not affected by the introduction of removal of additional alternatives
Restoration in the marine environment can be parti cularly challenging and there are various factors that influence the success of marine ecosystem restoration activities
Summary
Kelp forests are extensive, underwater habitats that dominate sub tidal shallow rocky coasts contributing to their production, biodiversity and functioning in temperate to polar parts of the world (Araújo et al, 2016; Filbee-Dexter and Wernberg, 2018). They are known to be one of the most productive natural ecosystems on the planet supporting complex food webs in coastal zones and providing food, shelter and habitat for a variety of invertebrates, fish, mammals and seabirds (Christie et al, 2009; Graham, 2004; Norderhaug et al, 2005; Teagle et al, 2017). The forests have been found to support other adjacent and diverse ecosystems through the export of kelp det ritus (Krumhansl and Scheibling, 2012)
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