Willingness to pay for threatened and endangered marine species: a review of the literature and prospects for policy use

Abstract

Non-market valuation methods have been employed to estimate willingness to pay for numerous threatened, endangered, and rare (TER) species over the past few decades. While most of these efforts have focused on terrestrial species, over 30 published studies have been conducted to measure economic values associated with the preservation, protection, and enhancement of scores of marine species. In this paper, this literature is reviewed and assessed, and an evaluation of the suitability of existing TER species values as inputs for the analysis of marine and coastal policies, and the prospects and challenges for improving them, are discussed. The published literature is found to suffer from coverage issues, both geographical and in terms of species types. It includes stated preference valuation studies focused on marine species only in developed countries (United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Spain, and Greece), with the highest concentration of studies occurring in the United States. The species valued primarily can be classified as charismatic megafauna-seals and sea lions, whales, and sea turtles-plus well-known fish species, like salmon. Only a small handful of lesser known species are included among those valued to date. Species value estimates were as much as $356 (2013 U.S. dollars), but differed in the frequency of payments (e.g., lump sum vs. annual), the entity paying (e.g., household, resident, or visitor), and the specific good being valued (e.g., species preservation or a type of enhancement). Potential sources of errors arising from the use of these values for policy analyses, and the temporal stability of them, provide reasons to be cautious in their application. Nevertheless, several trends in the literature appear to provide reasons to be optimistic about the literature, particularly the recent expansion of types of species valued and more policy-relevant values.

Factors Influencing Willingness to Donate to Marine Endangered Species Recovery in the Galapagos National Park, Ecuador

“…Both Kotchen and Reiling (2000) and Aldrich et al (2007) determined that environmental concern, as measured by the New Ecological Paradigm 5 , has a strong effect on predicting WTP for the conservation of two endangered species, the peregrine falcon and shortnose sturgeon. Tisdell and Wilson 2 These methods typically involve asking people questions that reveal either directly or indirectly for their preferences or the value they place on a good or service, such as protection of an endangered species (see Lew, 2015). 3 However, there are several studies that estimate WTP related to the conservation of marine species (e.g., Lew et al, 2010;Boxall et al, 2012;Wallmo and Lew, 2012;Lew, 2015;Wallmo and Lew, 2015) and marine parks (e.g., Peters and Hawkins, 2009) using stated preference methods.…”

“…Tisdell and Wilson 2 These methods typically involve asking people questions that reveal either directly or indirectly for their preferences or the value they place on a good or service, such as protection of an endangered species (see Lew, 2015). 3 However, there are several studies that estimate WTP related to the conservation of marine species (e.g., Lew et al, 2010;Boxall et al, 2012;Wallmo and Lew, 2012;Lew, 2015;Wallmo and Lew, 2015) and marine parks (e.g., Peters and Hawkins, 2009) using stated preference methods. 4 The literature also contains studies that examine factors influencing the intention to carry out environmental friendly activities for the conservation of marine species [e.g., manatees (Aipanjiguly et al, 2003), sea turtle (Kamrowski et al, 2014)]; as well as studies on behavioral intention for topics beyond marine conservation, including conservation of terrestrial threatened and rare fauna (e.g., Jacobson et al, 2003;Perry-Hill et al, 2014), water (e.g., Yazdanpanah et al, 2014), soil (e.g., Lynne and Rola, 1988), and energy ( Abrahamse and Steg, 2009).…”

“…In our context, an embedding effect occurs when an individual's response to the WTD question is based on an assumption made by the individual that more than just the species in question (green sea turtle or scalloped hammerhead shark) will be helped by the conservation program. 30 SeeLew (2015) for further discussion of willingness to pay studies related to endangered marine species, the methods used in these studies, and willingness to pay estimates for other endangered marine species.Frontiers in Marine Science | www.frontiersin.org…”

A Methodological Note for the Development of Integrated Aquaculture Production Models

“…In case of annual payments the respective amounts can be added to the NPV equation as a component of variable cost or as revenues in case of a positive net effect. (2012) a See Lew (2015).…”

The worth of giants: The consumptive and non‐consumptive use value of the giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas)

“…Thus, interest in preserving this valuable resource exerts considerable influence on national and international policy. However, there is increasing awareness of the non‐consumptive use values of wildlife to the public and the importance of using these values to better inform management of certain species (Lew, ).…”