User fees across ecosystem boundaries : are SCUBA divers willing to pay for terrestrial biodiversity conservation?
Abstract
While ecological links between ecosystems have been long recognised, management rarely crosses ecosystem boundaries. Coral reefs are susceptible to damage through terrestrial run-off, and failing to account for this within management threatens reef protection. In order to quantify the extent to that coral reef users are willing to support management actions to improve ecosystem quality, we conducted a choice experiment with SCUBA divers on the island of Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands. Specifically, we estimated their willingness to pay to reduce terrestrial overgrazing as a means to improve reef health. Willingness to pay was estimated using the multinomial, random parameter and latent class logit models. Willingness to pay for improvements to reef quality was positive for the majority of respondents. Estimates from the latent class model determined willingness to pay for reef improvements of between $31.17 - $413.18/year, dependent on class membership. This represents a significant source of funding for terrestrial conservation, and illustrates the potential for user fees to be applied across ecosystem boundaries. We argue that such across-ecosystem-boundary funding mechanisms are an important avenue for future investigation in many connected systems.
Citation
Roberts , M , Hanley , N & Cresswell , W 2017 , ' User fees across ecosystem boundaries : are SCUBA divers willing to pay for terrestrial biodiversity conservation? ' , Journal of Environmental Management , vol. 200 , pp. 53-59 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.070
Publication
Journal of Environmental Management
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0301-4797Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2017, Elsevier. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at www.sciencedirect.com / https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.070
Description
We acknowledge extensive field support provided by Bonaire NGO, Echo, during data collection, and the generosity of Great Adventures, Bonaire, Wannadive, Bonaire, Dive Friends, Bonaire, and Divi Dive, Bonaire in allowing us to conduct surveys at their locations. This work was funded by the University of St Andrews, School of Geography and Geosciences.Collections
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