The Economic Benefits of the Dokdo Seals Restoration Project in Korea: A Contingent Valuation Study

Abstract

Abstract:Northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), especially those that live in Dokdo, Korea, represent an endangered species in Korea. Thus, the government is considering the implementation of the Dokdo Seals (DS) restoration project. This article looks at the economic benefits for implementing the project, which includes making habitats for the DS, such as an artificial sea ranch, and training DS rescued from fishing nets and wounded in the wild to adapt to the wild so that they can be released into the Dokdo Sea. To this end, we looked at the willingness to pay (WTP) for the implementation of the project by conducting a contingent valuation (CV) survey of 1000 Korean households. We employed a one-and-one-half-bounded dichotomous choice question format. Furthermore, we used a spike model to model the WTP responses with zero observations. The mean yearly WTP for the project implementation was computed to be KRW 4923 (USD 4.86) for next ten years per household, which is statistically significant at the 1% level. The national annual value amounts to KRW 90.9 billion (USD 89.8 million). This value can be taken as an indication of the economic benefits of restoring the endangered species.

A Valuation of the Restoration of Hwangnyongsa Temple in South Korea

“…The use of the CV method is consistent with the experience of some related former studies, since the method is most frequently adopted in the literature [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. We can obtain a welfare measure easily by conducting a CV survey and then statistically looking into the data from the survey.…”

“…The benefits are measured by eliciting the public willingness to pay (WTP) for the restoration. The task of discovering the WTP can be conducted using contingent valuation (CV) [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Thus, this paper attempts to derive information about the public value or acceptability of restoring HT by 2035.…”

The Environmental Conservation Value of the Saemangeum Open Sea in Korea

“…In addition, we limited the respondents' age to 20-64 years including the working age population, because people who are younger or older have difficulties in responsibly responding to the WTP question [4,5,10,20,[24][25][26][27][28].…”

“…In this situation, this study has tried to quantify the monetary value of the current state of the SOS. In order for policy-makers to mediate between opponents and proponents of the development, set up sustainable development plans for the Saemangeum area, and create the SOS management policy, information on the environmental conservation value of the SOS is required [3,4]. Therefore, the prime objective of this article is to add a contribution to the existing literature by measuring the environmental conservation value of the SOS.…”

Are Korean Households Willing to Pay a Premium for Induction Cooktops over Gas Stoves?

“…The respondent's compliance or resentment arising from the second question may induce her/him to state a false WTP that is greater or smaller than her/his true WTP (e.g., [29,30]). Therefore, the one-and-one-half-bounded (OOHB) DC question method presented in Cooper et al [31] is employed in this study (e.g., [32][33][34]). This is because it can selectively exploit the merits of a single-bounded DC format endorsed by Carson and Groves [30] and a double-bounded DC format suggested by Hanemann et al [28].…”