The Valuation of Recreational Use of Wetlands and the Impact of the Economic Crisis

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 May 6;17(9):3228. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17093228.

Abstract

The economic valuation of environmental resources is of great interest to society in general and to public managers in particular. It can promote more sustainable environmental policies, as it clearly shows the high economic value of natural resources. Thus, these valuation tools can provide useful evidence to support such policies by quantifying the economic value associated with the protection of such resources. However, there is an inherent difficulty in the implementation of methods to assess the economic valuation of environmental resources, mainly as a result of the absence of a market and hence a price that explains its social demand. However, both the travel cost method and the contingent valuation method used in this paper offer an approach to the economic values of the recreational services for wetlands. The aim is to analyze whether these values have been influenced by the economic crisis, so two time periods are compared separated for a decade. Results do not show an unequivocal influence between values in both periods, with different behaviors among natural areas, although with a certain tendency to increase in the decade being analyzed.

Keywords: consumer surplus; contingent valuation; entrance fee; recreational value; travel cost method; wetlands; willingness to pay.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Conservation of Natural Resources*
  • Economic Recession*
  • Natural Resources
  • Wetlands*