Economic Valuation Studies Research Articles

A choice experiment economic valuation of cultural heritage tourism ecosystems

Economic valuation studies of non-market goods in culture and tourism have a long and recognised track record. Many studies focus on evaluating well-defined examples such as monuments, institutions or events, leaving the valuation of cultural heritage tourism ecosystems as an important and less explored challenge. This work addresses the evaluation of a cultural tourist ensemble in which factors such as the natural landscape, elements of tangible historical heritage and intangible technological knowledge are integrated, all referring to a specific territorial demarcation, which acts as a driver of tourist appeal. Choice experiment methodology is applied to obtain the value allocated to different attributes of the ensemble by various groups of visitors, according to their origin or type of stay: first, local, national and foreign visitors; and second, the canonical distinction between excursionists and tourists. In general, locals report a greater contribution to preserve cultural expressions while nationals and foreigners do so for tourism services. Tourists report greater appreciation for cultural consumption while excursionists do so for drivers of cultural and territorial brand. Our approach and results can provide a better basis to implement strategies of management and preservation of cultural ecosystems as niches for tourism activity and economic impact.

Improved assessments of subsurface projects: Systematic mapping of geosystem services and a review of their economic values

Awareness of the subsurface and its multitude of resources is generally low and decisions on access to subsurface resources are often guided by a ‘first come, first served principle’. Although not yet fully developed, the concept of geosystem services has been put forward to make subsurface resources more visible and acknowledged in decision-making. This study (1) illustrates a systematic mapping of effects on geosystem services using a process-oriented perspective in two conceptual case studies; (2) translates the mapped effects into costs and benefits items in a qualitative cost-benefit analysis (CBA) context; and (3) presents a systematic review of economic valuation studies of geosystem services to investigate the available support for a quantitative CBA. The findings suggest that systematic mapping of effects on multiple geosystem services can inform different types of assessment methods and decision-makers on trade-offs and provide a basis for well-informed and responsible decisions on subsurface use. Combining such mapping with a CBA can further strengthen decision support through indications of the net effects on human well-being. However, although economic valuation of non-market geosystem services is possible using established valuation methods, such studies are scarce in scientific literature. Thus, although a CBA can provide a basis for supporting decisions on subsurface use from a consequentialist perspective, full quantification of all effects may require great efforts, and it needs to be complemented with other methods to capture the full range of values the subsurface can provide. This study also highlights that depending on the context, supporting and regulating geosystem services can be either intermediate or final services. Therefore, if geosystem services are to be included in the abiotic extension of CICES, in which supporting services by definition are excluded, reclassification of the supporting geosystem services should be considered not to risk being overlooked in economic valuation and CBA.

Estado del arte sobre el pago por servicios ambientales en Paraguay: Dieciséis años de gestión

Due to the increasing academic interest in Payment for Environmental Services (PES) globally and the scattered state of PES in Paraguay, this paper presents a review of Paraguay to provide an overview of the current state of the subject at the national level and develop new theoretical and methodological approaches. The main objectives of this article are to compile the history of management and systematization of technical, academic, and scientific information on PES in Paraguay and contribute to defining economic valuation methods to enhance PES at the local and regional levels. This will serve as a strategy for designing environmental management models that guarantee the provision of long-term environmental services (16 years of analysis).The study design was qualitative, documentary, bibliographic and descriptive, based on the preparation and analysis of a database with 41 technical documents that facilitated the systematization and mapping of the information. Results show that 46% of the documents analyzed correspond to peer-reviewed literature, with five identified management periods. The most worked aspect was the economic valuation of environmental goods and services, especially those derived from the forest, where market-based valuation techniques based have been applied to a greater extent. As for the valuation of environmental damage, no publications or works were found during the studied period. Economic valuation studies were important for the current PES regulation process in Paraguay. that the Payment for Environmental Services (PES) mechanism in Paraguay has made significant progress over the past 16 years. However, both the market and policies related to PES are still not fully established due to critical issues identified, primarily the lack of regulation of other certification modalities that contribute to both sustainable production and conservation strategies. Hence, there is a need to address these challenges to ensure the effective implementation of PES in Paraguay. * The photo corresponds to Tuyuyús cuarteleros (Jabiru mycteria) in the flooding savannah of the Chaco. Photo: Karim Musalem

VALORACIÓN ECONÓMICA AMBIENTAL: LA TENDENCIA DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN EN MÉXICO Y LATINOAMÉRICA

<pre><strong>Background.</strong> The results of the economic valuation of ecosystems facilitate their management and conservation, although they frequently focus on the economic valuation of the resource per se, and the willingness to pay for its touristic use, frequently leaving aside the valuation from the perspective of the inhabitants who live in the area of influence of the ecosystems or who closely depend on them. <strong>Objective.</strong> To analize the trend that economic valuation studies have followed in Latin America, during the period between 2011 and 2022, is analyzed with the aim of determining the type of interest that motivates researchers, that is, to identify the value assigned by the visitor and the value that the settler asigns. <strong>Methodology</strong>. Publications on economic valuation studies were analyzed, with emphasis on the Contingent Valuation Method in Latin America, related to tourism (ecotourism and nature tourism) and the use of natural resources. The search was performed in open access databases. The publications were classified by type, subject and country of origin. Peer reviewed documents, thesis and final reports of projects consistent with the theme were considered. <strong>Main finding.</strong> The results obtained, revealed that the trend of research in Latin America in this last decade, in terms of economic valuation of ecosystems, has been mainly directed towards visitors to determine the value that they assign to the ecosystem based on their preferences and travel satisfaction, in terms of Willingness to Pay, according to the Contingent Valuation Method. In the case of the economic valuation works under the aforementioned method, but aimed at knowing the value that the ecosystems have for the inhabitants, it was observed that the variables that are most related to the Willingness to Accept Compensation are the level of studies and the income/occupation. <strong>Implications. </strong>Inevitably, economic valuation studies must include social, cultural and environmental aspects under which the communities that depend on the ecosystem are governed, because evaluating only quantitative variables could underestimate the real value, since they are not developed under the consideration of the social context that makes visible the effort to pay or accept compensation. <strong>Conclusion.</strong> It is necessary to include methodological approaches that comprehensively evaluate the resources by including intangible values (culture, history, uses and customs), in an inclusive strategy effort, which allows the original communities to maintain their identity and, at the same time, to be competitive in the nature tourism market, without losing sight of the conservation of the appropriate ecosystems.</pre>

What is a lion worth to local people – Quantifying of the costs of living alongside a top predator

The presence of large predators entails a range of costs and some benefits for the communities that live alongside them. The cost in terms of the value of livestock lost to predation is well known, but this represents only a part of the costs that people experience, as it does not account for non-market costs such as fear, avoidance behaviours and threat to human life. We quantify the total cost of lion presence for agro-pastoral communities in Zimbabwe using economic valuation techniques. The total perceived value of one additional lion was estimated to be negative US$180 per person per year, which is several hundred times larger than the market value of the average loss of livestock per household. If making simplifying economic assumptions, this discrepancy reveals the magnitude of the non-market costs associated with the presence of large predators. The disvalue of lion presence was linked to fear, ecocentric values, wealth and trust in compensation institutions. We also demonstrate the importance of considering heterogeneity in preferences within communities; segments of the population did not have net negative value attached to lions, and some disliked monetary compensation. We also estimate the willingness-to-accept for two human-wildlife conflict mitigation programs in terms of acceptable increases in lion numbers, as opposed to monetary units which is the conventional approach in economic valuation studies. We argue that estimating value in terms of biodiversity outcomes should be used more widely. We also demonstrate the distorting effect of distrust towards compensation in choice experiments and argue that economic valuation methods employing choice experiments should control for this distrust when estimating willingness-to-pay. These discoveries have relevance for a wide range of situations where potentially dangerous wildlife species co-exist with people.

Economic Valuation of Lake Tempe Area Resources in Wajo Regency; A Socio-Economic and Ecological Approach

So far, there have been no economic valuation studies to ecological studies that reveal the potential of the Tempe Lake area, so that policy makers have not been able to manage and use the Tempe Lake Area, at the most effective and efficient level, and able to distribute the benefits and costs of conservation fairly. The novelty of this research is trying to do an economic valuation, which is paralleled with an ecological study of the existence of Lake Tempe. This study aims to identify the ecological functions of Lake Tempe that give rise to various economic and non-economic benefits for the community around Lake Tempe, as well as to determine the amount of Total Economic Value (NET) of Lake Tempe. The data were analyzed by adding up the value of direct benefits, value of indirect benefits, value of choice benefits, value of existence benefits and value of inheritance benefits in the Tempe Lake area. This research data was collected through surveys and interviews with stakeholders who have a reciprocal relationship with the Tempe Lake area in Wajo Regency. The results showed that the total economic value obtained for the Tempe Lake area was Rp. 5,742,249,708,120,- per year with the largest contribution coming from the direct benefit value of Rp. 4,571,395,793,250,- per year or 78.7%. The implication of the research is the need for cross-sectoral joint coordination from various levels of government, to encourage the rehabilitation of forest areas around the Walennae and Bila watersheds. Dredging of Lake Tempe is urgently needed to cope with the annual flooding due to overflow of water. In addition, to increase the utilization of Lake Tempe, a more massive synergy between stakeholders is needed, to develop other untapped potential of the Lake Tempe area.Keywords: Valuation; Resource Economics; Ecology

Economic valuation of suspended sediment and phosphorus filtration services by four different wetland types: A preliminary assessment for southern Ontario, Canada

AbstractWetlands are known for their water filtration (or purification) function. Although different wetland types differ in their filtration capacity, they are usually aggregated together in economic valuation studies. Here, we explicitly separate the valuation of the suspended sediment and phosphorus (P) filtration services of the four major wetland types—bogs, fens, marshes and swamps—found in southern Ontario, Canada. The areal extents of the four wetland types are derived from the Canadian Wetland Inventory (CWI) progress map, while the sediment accretion rate is used as the key variable regulating the suspended sediment and P filtration functions. Based on available literature data, we assess the relationship of the sediment accretion rate to wetland size. Because only weak positive correlations are found, we assign a mean (average) sediment accretion rate to each wetland type. The sediment accretion rates are combined with mean soil P concentrations to estimate Pretention rates by the wetlands. The replacement cost method is then applied to valuate the sediment and P filtration services. The unit values for both sediment and P retention decrease in the order: marshes > bogs ≈ swamps > fens. The total value of sediment plus phosphorus removal by all wetlands in southern Ontario amounts to $4.2 ± 2.9 billion per year, of which about 80% is accounted for by swamps. We further assess the costs of different options to offset the additional P loading generated in a hypothetical scenario whereby all wetlands are converted to agriculture. The results demonstrate that replacing the P filtration function of existing wetlands with conventional land management and water treatment solutions is not cost‐effective, hence reinforcing the importance of protecting existing wetlands.

Economic Valuation for Cultural and Passive Ecosystem Services Using a Stated Preference (Contingent Valuation Method (CVM)) Case of the Elgeyo Watershed Ecosystem, Kenya

Valuation of ecosystem services (ESs) can be typical as use values and passive use values. However, the prevailing conventional markets provide economic instruments such as price tags to ecosystem use values, but rarely on passive use values. This is limited since it does not provide comprehensive ecological values that will adequately support rational decision-making processes regarding ecological conservation. The study adopted the contingency valuation method (CVM) where three hundred and eighty households of communities living within the Elgeyo watershed were sampled. The findings recorded 97% of the population was willing to pay for the ESs quoted. Individual maximum WTP ranged between 1 USD and 57.1 USD (cultural), 1 USD and 95.2 USD (bequest), and 1 USD and 76.2 USD (biodiversity conservation). The overall mean maximum WTP was 7.4 ± 0.34 USD, 9.1 ± 0.49 USD, and 11.1 ± 0.68 USD for the cultural, bequest, and biodiversity, respectively. The multivariate regression (maximum WTP as a function of administrative location, education, income, sex, age, and livestock number) exhibited a significant difference regardless of multivariate criteria used, where Wilks’ lambda has F (75,203) = 4.03,p<0.001. The findings provide an economic value for nonuse values that can be incorporated in total economic valuation (TEV) studies locally as well as provide an impetus on payment of ecosystem services (PES) in Kenya.

Pollination ecosystem services: A comprehensive review of economic values, research funding and policy actions

Economic valuation of crop pollination services, including potential monetary losses in agricultural production induced by insufficient pollination, is a strategy to quantify the impacts of this critical ecosystem service on food production, food security and the global economy, and to drive policy actions. We examined how the economic valuation of crop pollination services has been investigated across the ecological and economics literature and review estimates of monetary values of crop pollination services, as well as the investments (research funding/grants) and policy actions associated with pollinators and pollination. We documented an increase in the number of economic valuation studies on pollination services in the last two decades, with a substantial growth over the last five years, which represented 54% of all publications. However, we emphasize that there is a marked lack of data on regionally important commercial crops that are essential for the food security of many millions of people, particularly in developing countries. Estimated global values of the crop pollination service, adjusted for inflation in March/2020, range widely from US$195 billion to ~US$387 (US$267–657) billion annually — due to methodology, input data and a historical increase in production costs of pollinator-dependent crops. There is an increasing trend over time in the values of crop pollination service estimates for the full set of main globally-grown crops, although estimates for specific crops are widely variable at local to regional scales. Research funding on pollination/pollinators is mainly in developed countries, which have published all the reviewed policy papers on the economic value of crop pollination services. Although the valuation of pollination services, and associated economics and policy remain embryonic areas of research, animal-mediated pollination is clearly a high-value environmental service, which greatly strengthens conservation arguments worldwide.

A Structured Approach to Attribute Selection in Economic Valuation Studies: Using Q-methodology

The literature on economic valuation of ecosystem services increasingly recognizes that the welfare generating endpoint of biophysical changes could potentially be heterogeneous across individuals in the population. This paper suggests Q-methodology as a structured and transparent approach to attribute selection in Discrete Choice Experiments that is easy to document, by combining the in-depth subjectivity of qualitative methods and the statistical rigor of factor analysis to identify groups in the population. Valid welfare estimates are dependent on the beneficiaries being presented with relevant attributes in the scenario description. This paper develops and implements a three-step procedure to: 1) identify potential groups of beneficiaries motivated by distinct ecosystem service endpoints 2) classify respondents in a Discrete Choice Experiment into groups of beneficiaries, according to their ecosystem service motivation, and 3) tailor the design of the Discrete Choice Experiment to the group-specific ecosystem service endpoints of the beneficiaries. The application explores potential heterogeneity in the ecosystem service endpoints derived from water quality improvements in Denmark.

Incorporating environmental costs of ecosystem service loss in political decision making: A synthesis of monetary values for Germany

Germany faces on-going degradation and biodiversity loss. As a consequence, goods and services provided by biodiversity for human well-being, so-called ecosystem services, are being lost. The associated economic costs and benefits are often unknown. To fill this gap, we conducted a literature review and developed a database of monetary values for the changes in ecosystem services that result from ecosystem change in Germany. In total, 109 monetary valuation studies of regulating and cultural ecosystem services were identified, with the majority focusing on forests and wetlands. In collaboration with valuation experts and the German Federal Environment Agency—Umweltbundesamt (UBA), we defined a set of criteria that economic valuation studies should meet in order to qualify for being used in decision making on national policies. Only 6 out of 109 valuation studies (5.5%) fulfilled the quality criteria for informing such decisions. Overall, monetary information on regulating and cultural ecosystem services is scattered and scarce compared to information on provisioning services, which is accounted for in detail in national statistics. This imbalance in information likely contributes to the distortion in land-use policies, giving preference to maximizing provisioning services in agricultural production and forestry, while neglecting the societal relevance of regulating and cultural services. Decision makers have to rely on only a few cost estimates that are scientifically robust, while being pragmatic to include also vague estimates in cases where data is lacking. The transferability of the monetary values included in our database depends on the biophysical and socio-economic site conditions as well as the decision context of the intended application. Case specific adjustments following guidance for benefit transfer are recommended. Given the lack of applicable studies, we call for more decision-relevant economic assessments. Even in cases where monetary estimates are available, we suggest decision makers to consider also other benefit information available to capture the multiple values ecosystems provide to humans.

Costes intangibles de la dependencia alcohólica desde la perspectiva de los pacientes y sus familiares: un estudio de valoración contingente

Alcohol dependence causes multiple problems not only for the person suffering dependence but also for others. In this study, the contingent valuation method is proposed to measure the intangible effects of alcohol dependence from the perspective of the persons directly involved: the patients and their relatives. Interviews were conducted with 145 patients and 61 relatives. Intangible effects of alcohol dependence were determined based on willingness to pay for a hypothetical treatment for dependence, with different success scenarios (100% and 50%). The mean monthly willingness to pay among the alcohol-dependent population was €129 and €168, respectively, for the treatments with 100% and 50% success. The willingness to pay of relatives was greater in both scenarios (€307 and €420, respectively), which could be explained by their greater perception of the family, labour, and health problems resulting from alcohol dependence. Regression analysis showed that patients' willingness to pay is positively related to treatment efficacy, personal income and moderate health deterioration, and negatively related to feeling discouraged and depressed. The results from this study can be applied to economic valuation studies that aim to measure the benefits of programs intended to reduce the prevalence of alcohol dependence. The intangible costs estimated can be added to the direct and indirect costs commonly used.

The socioeconomics of genetically modified biofortified crops: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Building upon the growing interest and research on genetically modified (GM) biofortification, its socioeconomic potential has been increasingly examined. We conducted two systematic reviews and meta-analyses to provide comprehensive evidence of consumers' willingness to pay (11 economic valuation studies, 64 estimates) and cost-effectiveness/benefits (five economic evaluation studies, 30 estimates). Worldwide, consumers were willing to pay 23.9% more for GM biofortified food crops. Aside from crop and design-related differences, information provision was deemed crucial. Positive information (nutrition and GM benefits) is associated with the highest consumer willingness to pay, compared with negative, objective, and conflicting GM information, especially when negative information was mentioned last. This health intervention would reduce the aggregated micronutrient deficiency burden in Asia (15.6 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)) by 12.5-51.4%, at a low cost of USD 7.9-27.8 per DALY in a pessimistic and optimistic scenario, respectively. Given that GM biofortified crops could tackle hidden hunger in a cost-effective and well-accepted way, its implementation is worth pursuing. A case study on folate biofortification further elaborates on the importance of socioeconomic research and the determinants of their market potential.

AN INSIGHT INTO THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF REEF ENVIRONMENTS THROUGH THE LITERATURE: THE CASE OF THE SEAFLOWER BIOSPHERE RESERVE

The Seaflwer Biosphere Reserve (SBR) is one of the few places in Colombia with a set of available studies on the economic value of its reef environments. This paper seeks to review the policy applications of these studies, and evaluate the use of benefi transfer (BT) methods to predict value estimates for sites in the SBR where no valuations have been performed. First, the paper provides an analysis and categorization of policy uses of existing results. A set of economic valuation studies were identifid as somewhat inflential in policy applications, because they provided fiancial sustainability tools for marine protected areas. A case study was selected from the pool of inflential studies in order to assess the viability of BT. Second, the viability of using BT for determining recreational values of coral reefs within the SBR was assessed by: i) implementing a demand function transfer between the Johnny Cay Regional Park and the Old Providence and McBean Lagoon National Park; and ii) by estimating a meta-analytic function transfer based on world-wide meta-data on the recreational value of coral reefs. Results suggested a potential for the use of BT to predict recreational values for coral reefs in the SBR. In particular, the metaanalytic results indicated low to moderate transfer errors for the SBR, suggesting the viability of this approach.

Economic valuation of Baltic marine ecosystem services: blind spots and limited consistency

AbstractEconomic valuation of marine ecosystem services in the Baltic Sea region has gained importance, as policy-makers are recognizing their decline and focusing on achieving good environmental status there in terms of, for example, reduced eutrophication. Parallel with this development, several initiatives have been launched, leading to a large number of economic valuation studies. However, current research indicates that neither a common approach to classifying ecosystem services nor a widely accepted methodological framework for assessing their economic value exist yet. This paper seeks to shed light on the current state of the economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by the Baltic Sea through reviewing all currently available empirical studies on the topic. The results indicate that only a few ecosystem services, including recreation and reduction of eutrophication, have been extensively monetarily valued, and still lack cross-study methodological consistency, while many other marine ecosystem services have rarely or never been valued with economic methods. The paper concludes that existing economic valuation studies provide only limited practical guidance for policy-makers intending to improve the environmental status of the Baltic Sea. There is a need for more widely shared agreement on the systematic nature of marine and coastal ecosystem services and especially on a coherent methodological framework for assessing their economic value.

Insect pollinators boost the market price of culturally important crops: holly, mistletoe and the spirit of Christmas

Animal pollination is a vital ecological process in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. Economic valuation studies have demonstrated that pollination services may underpin a significant proportion of global crop market outputs. However these assessments are probably under-estimates because they have rarely included non-food crops, for which very few data are currently available. In particular, culturally symbolic plants have received no attention. Here we show that pollinators have considerable economic benefits to sales of European holly and mistletoe, two seasonal cultural crops that are almost wholly dependent upon insect pollinators for the production of ornamental berries. Analyses of a time series of auction records spanning 11 years indicates that wholesale prices paid for holly with berries are twice those paid for the crop without berries, whilst mistletoe with berries sells for almost three times the price of the crop lacking fruit. The benefits of this insect pollination ecosystem service to this market are therefore considerable. These findings demonstrate that pollinators can play a significant role in adding value to crops that provide resources other than food. In the future such crops should be included in assessments of regional and global value of animal pollination to increase the accuracy of assessments of the value of pollination as an ecosystem service. Our results also support arguments for continued efforts to conserve pollinator diversity and abundance in agro-ecological systems, not least for their contribution as providers of ecosystem services.

Insect pollinators boost the market price of culturally important crops: holly, mistletoe and the spirit of Christmas

Animal pollination is a vital ecological process in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. Economic valuation studies have demonstrated that pollination services may underpin a significant proportion of global crop market outputs. However these assessments are probably under-estimates because they have rarely included non-food crops, for which very few data are currently available. In particular, culturally symbolic plants have received no attention. Here we show that pollinators have considerable economic benefits to sales of European holly and mistletoe, two seasonal cultural crops that are almost wholly dependent upon insect pollinators for the production of ornamental berries. Analyses of a time series of auction records spanning 11 years indicates that wholesale prices paid for holly with berries are twice those paid for the crop without berries, whilst mistletoe with berries sells for almost three times the price of the crop lacking fruit. The benefits of this insect pollination ecosystem service to this market are therefore considerable. These findings demonstrate that pollinators can play a significant role in adding value to crops that provide resources other than food. In the future such crops should be included in assessments of regional and global value of animal pollination to increase the accuracy of assessments of the value of pollination as an ecosystem service. Our results also support arguments for continued efforts to conserve pollinator diversity and abundance in agro-ecological systems, not least for their contribution as providers of ecosystem services.

Ecosystem services values in Spain: A meta-analysis

We analyzed the state of the art in research on the economic valuation of ecosystem services in Spain. A review of 150 publications was conducted and included 649 economic value estimates. The results showed an increase in the number of scientific studies on the economic valuation of ecosystem services and a dissimilar distribution across regions. Cultural ecosystem services received the most attention, and coastal systems and forested areas were the most studied ecosystem types. We found differences in the economic value estimates among categories of services and among economic valuation methods, with provisioning services and market-based methods as those that elicited the highest economic values, respectively. Our results provide an overview of past and current economic valuation studies in Spain. In addition the results depict patterns that help in understanding the effects of different factors on economic value estimates and in providing insights for future research on ecosystem services assessment in Spain. We conclude that although economic assessments remain important in scientific and policy forums, we should also recognize additional approaches that are able to incorporate the plurality of values attached to ecosystem services.

Capturing the complexity of biodiversity: A critical review of economic valuation studies of biological diversity

Biodiversity is a highly complex and abstract ecological concept. Even though it is not one physical entity, it influences human well-being in multiple ways, mostly indirectly. While considerable research effort has been spent on the economic valuation of biodiversity, it remains to be a particularly challenging ‘valuation object’. Valuation practitioners therefore have to use proxies for biodiversity, many of which are very simple (single species, habitats). This paper presents a comprehensive and critical review of biodiversity valuation studies with special emphasis on biodiversity valuation in order to depict the state-of-the-art in this research field. It develops evaluation criteria so as to identify best-practice applications and shows that the field of biodiversity valuation studies is rather heterogeneous regarding both valuation objects and valuation methods. On the basis of our evaluation criteria and best-practice studies we suggest that to account for the complexity and abstractness of biodiversity, multi-attribute approaches with encompassing information provision should be used that emphasise the roles biodiversity plays for human well-being.

Economic valuation of protected areas and recreational sites in India: some review findings

The economic valuation studies based on protected areas (PAs) and recreational sites of India have been critically reviewed. In most of the studies, travel cost method (TCM) and contingent valuation method (CVM) have been used to measure the economic value of PAs. These methods are not sufficient to elicit total economic value (TEV) of different sites thus studies are incomplete. It is found that ignorance, illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and inappropriate institutions are the major hurdles in adopting the survey based methods, especially CVM. The review findings reveal that while measuring economic value of PAs, results of different studies adopting different techniques are not the same. In addition to that, it is found in the review that some scholars have estimated use value and some others non-use value. The findings of the review conclude that only one study has captured both use and non-use value of a national park.