A Model for the Economic Evaluation of Cultural Ecosystem Services: The Recreational Hunting Function in the Agroforestry Territories of Tuscany (Italy)

Abstract

Cultural ecosystem services (CESs) are non-material benefits generated by natural and human ecosystems that substantially contribute to human wellbeing. Estimating the monetary value of CESs is challenging because there is no real market for these services and therefore there is no actual market price. This study seeks to define an economic evaluation method for these services, with special reference to a recreational CES that has so far received little discussion: hunting. We conducted an online survey in the province of Siena (Tuscany, Italy). The Consumer Surplus estimate of hunters was made using the travel-cost method with a detailed analysis of the annual expenditure on hunting activities, and a negative binomial statistical regression. The results reflect the nature of hunting activity and show the dynamics that have occurred over recent decades. In fact, whereas hunting used to be strongly connected to the rural world as it was an income supplement for local communities, nowadays it has turned into an elitist and almost exclusively recreational activity. In any case, knowing the economic value of ecosystem services constitutes an essential background for planning effective land management and development policies in the short and long term.

The Economic Value of Forest Bathing: An Example Case of the Italian Alps

“…The present study highlighted that forest bathing assumes a relevant economic value related to the increase in the recreational attractiveness of the site, in addition to the physical and mental benefits demonstrated by many studies in the international literature [3,[10][11][12][13]. The monetary value of recreation is an important parameter when developing policies that take into account not only the values generated by forest market products (e.g., timber and non-wood forest products) but also the values of non-market services (e.g., landscape and recreation) [36].…”

“…First of all, the TCM is a revealed preference method based on the assumption that the value of a site reflects the costs incurred in visiting the site itself [28] and that the frequency of visits to the site decreases as the costs incurred increase [35]. In fact, visitors have to spend money to enjoy a recreational activity, especially when it concerns the natural environment located at a certain distance from the urban areas from which most visitors usually derive [36]. In particular, costs such as travel expenses (e.g., fuel, tolls, and parking) and other expenses related to the activity (e.g., accommodation, food, entrance fees, and guided tours) should be taken into account [27].…”

Assessing the Touristic Activities of Wetlands through the Travel Cost Method: A Case Study

“…The first step in the application of the Travel Cost Method is to identify areas from which visitors come based on available data. These areas are weighted based on the distance of visitors from the place of interest, as in [34][35][36]. The zones were identified on the basis of visitor attendance data published by the Sardinian Tourism Observatory.…”

A nonparametric random effects model for the valuation of forest recreation services: An application to forest sites in Tuscany, Italy

“…The emphasis on location is hence useful to evaluate the effects on forest access (Nielsen et al., 2016). And from this viewpoint, the region of Tuscany represents an ideal case study for woodland visitation as it provides a wide set of opportunities to recreationists: 50 per cent of the region's area is covered by woodland and more than 90 per cent of the territory is labelled as rural (Fagarazzi et al., 2021).…”