Eliciting Public Values for Management of Complex Marine Systems: An Integrated Choice Experiment

Abstract

To accurately capture how the public values marine environmental management, we need valuation approaches that can accommodate the complexity of environmental systems and human interaction with them. Coherently representing this complexity in an evaluation means that we can inform the socially optimal allocation of marine resources among competing uses, such as fisheries, industry and environmental protection. Integrated choice experiments (ICE) provide a systematic approach to valuing large numbers of attributes, and we use it to value eight marine ecological and recreational features at Moreton Bay, South-East Queensland. The ICE employed two sub-experiments: ecological and recreational, to reduce cognitive load for respondents. We compare the ICE approach with a full-profile discrete choice experiment, with all eight attributes. The ICE had greater face validity than the traditional format. We find large, positive willingness to pay for the provision of recreational features and habitat protection, although with some diminishing marginal effects.

Investigating public preferences for the management of native and invasive species in the context of kelp restoration

“…Stated preference techniques are required when the non-use values are of particular importance e.g. the intrinsic value of a habitat area or unfamiliar marine assets [20]. Stated preference techniques can be used to generate welfare measures consistent with the economic theory that underpins benefit-cost analysis.…”

Estimating the economic benefits and costs of highly‐protected marine protected areas

“…) and stated‐preference (Davis et al. ) methods. The former use data on consumers’ observable choices to infer values for environmental goods.…”

“…Non-market values are usually measured by revealed-preference (Viana et al 2017) and statedpreference (Davis et al 2019) methods. The former use data on consumers' observable choices to infer values for environmental goods.…”

“…Non‐market benefits are the economic values for goods or services that cannot be observed through market transactions, and they include the benefit to people from knowing that a threatened species is protected, or that an ecosystem is in good condition (Davis et al. ).…”

“…Marine protected areas can also provide market benefits through increased tourism (Basurto et al 2016), or the provision of ecosystem services (e.g., conserved reef systems can protect coastlines from severe weather). Non-market benefits are the economic values for goods or services that cannot be observed through market transactions, and they include the benefit to people from knowing that a threatened species is protected, or that an ecosystem is in good condition (Davis et al 2019).…”