Kim, T-G., and Petrolia, D. R. 2013. Public perceptions of wetland restoration benefits in Louisiana. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70: 1045–1054. We conducted a referendum-style contingent-valuation survey to investigate public perceptions of wetland restoration benefits including storm protection, ecosystem services, and recreational benefits and to analyse willingness to pay (WTP) for large-scale coastal restoration in Louisiana. Results of the ordered probit and binary probit models indicate that the public perceives both a strong relationship between increased wetland loss and an increased storm risk and a substantial likelihood of increased storm-protection benefits from wetland restoration. However, respondents expressed that they were less likely to believe the improved storm reduction benefits from restoration when they perceived a high frequency of category 3 or greater storms. Additionally, we found that hurricane protection benefits were the most important factor explaining WTP for wetland restoration for preventing expected future land losses in coastal Louisiana.
Data obtained through a contingent-valuation survey were used to analyze preferences for wetland-loss prevention in coastal Louisiana. Results indicate a strong preference for a short-run program over a long-run program or no action. Respondents that had higher incomes, were white, had prior knowledge of ongoing restoration efforts, and had confidence in government were more likely to vote yes relative to no action, as were those citing hurricane, environmental, or climate-change protection as their primary concern. Turnbull Lower-Bound median willingness to pay (willingness to accept compensation) was estimated at $3,547 ($5,313) per household for the short-run program and $2,765 ($5,101) per household for the long-run program.
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