Willingness to Pay for Nature Conservation Policies in State-Owned Forests: An Austrian Case Study

Abstract

The Austrian Federal Forests (ÖBf), the Republic of Austria’s state-owned company, manages 15% of the Austrian forests; about 50% of the land is devoted to nature conservation. This paper presents the results of a representative survey of Austrian households ascertaining the acceptance of, preferences regarding, and willingness to pay for three different management scenarios. One program would increase commercial forestry, while two other programs would significantly enhance biodiversity conservation. The majority of respondents considers it an important task of state-owned forests to enhance biodiversity conservation. The study reveals that the preferences of the respondents are very heterogeneous. For instance, in addition to socio-economic characteristics, the willingness to pay for nature conservation depends on personal experiences and perceptions (e.g., whether respondents feel anxious in forests), political views (e.g., the acceptance of strict legal protection of natural resources), and opinions on forest policy issues (e.g., preferences regarding privatization of public land). The study places special emphasis on the thorough description and presentation of the scenarios to the respondents and is one of the first European studies to elicit opinions on forest policies regarding public land in an environmental valuation framework.

Undergraduate Students Willingness to Pay for Social Services of Trees at the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

“…This finding agrees with [15] that gender significantly influence peoples willingness to pay for conservation of natural resources in the Gunung Gading National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. The result is also in line with [32] that gender influences WTP for nature conservation policies in state-owned forests in Austrian. However, the finding contradicts [33] who found no significant difference between gender and willingness to pay for conservation of selected Zoos in Southwest Nigeria.…”

The Benefits of Local Forest Recreation in Austria and Its Dependence on Naturalness and Quietude

“…In order to account for the aims of this paper raised in Section 1, a nationwide survey was designed and implemented on Austrian households. Besides other topics [21], the questionnaire focused on local recreation activities, and the preferences of households with regard to forest management (see the Appendix A for the key questions of the survey). The questionnaire was drafted within a period of about six months, reviewed comprehensively by other experts and scientists as well as by a focus group at the Institute of Spatial Planning (Vienna University of Technology).…”

“…These pictures and descriptions were used to assess the naturalness of forests closest to the respondents' residences (cf. [21][22][23][24]).…”

“…These pictures and descriptions were used to assess the naturalness of forests closest to the respondents' residences (cf. [21][22][23][24]). As there are virtually no virgin forests left in Europe, we refer to the highest degree of naturalness of forests as "natural forests" and "old-growth forests" (see [25]).…”

“…As there are virtually no virgin forests left in Europe, we refer to the highest degree of naturalness of forests as "natural forests" and "old-growth forests" (see [25]). Source: Own survey and concept, 2015/2018 (pictures © Hanns Kirchmeir, reprinted by kind permission; [21]). Pictures and descriptions used for presenting different degrees of naturalness of forests in the representative household survey.…”