Willingness to pay for improved irrigation water supply reliability: an approach based on probability density functions

In irrigated agricultural systems, a major source of uncertainty relates to water supply, as it significantly affects farm income. This paper investigates farmers’ utility changes associated with shifts in the probability density function of water supply leading to a higher water supply reliability (higher mean and lower variance in annual water allotments). A choice experiment relying on a mean-variance approach is applied to the case study of an irrigation district of the Guadalquivir River Basin (southern Spain). To our knowledge, this is the first study using parameters of these probability density functions of water supply as choice experiment attributes to value water supply reliability. Results show that there are different types of farmers according to their willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements in water supply reliability, with some willing to pay nothing (47.8%) while others have a relatively low (28.0%) or high (24.2%) WTP. A range of factors influencing farmers’ preferences toward water supply reliability are revealed, with those related to risk exposure to water availability being of special importance. The results can be used to assist the design of more efficient policy instruments to improve water supply reliability in Mediterranean and semi-arid climate region

Estimating the value of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes amid intensification pressures: The Brazilian case.

The Brazilian agricultural commodities market and the agribusiness sector are facing an increasing international demand for improved environmental standards, such as those regarding climate change and biodiversity loss. Although there are many studies on the structural determinants of sustainable agriculture related to the production systems, markets, and governance, there is a paucity of studies focusing on the valuation of ecosystem services (ES) provided by agricultural landscapes for which no market exists. In this context, the present paper provides estimates of the value of ES related to changes in land use and management in intensive agricultural landscapes in Brazil, using a discrete choice experiment. The results show a significant demand for changes in land use and management to deliver improved ES provision, with marginal willingness to pay (WTP) estimates falling within the R$104-541 interval (?18-93) per household and year. According to WTP, ES are ordered as follows: improved biodiversity, soil conservation, carbon storage, and aesthetics. Preference heterogeneity points to novel effects worth of closer look in future research. The results provide evidence of social support for a change to a more sustainable agricultural production model

A framework for valuing spatially targeted peatland restoration

Recent evidence suggests that the degree of degradation of peatlands is substantial, and that there is a significant potential to enhance the delivery of a wide range of ecosystem services by investing in peatland restoration. However, little is known about the social welfare impacts of peatland restoration and in particular how to spatially target restoration activities to maximise net benefits from investments in restoration. This paper investigates the steps required to conduct a spatially explicit economic impact assessment of peatland restoration, and highlights and discusses key requirements and issues associated with such an assessment. We find that spatially explicit modelling of the biophysical impacts of restoration over time is challenging due to non-linear effects and interaction effects. This has repercussions for the spatially explicit assessment of costs and benefits, which in itself is a demanding task. We conclude that the gains of investing in the research needed to conduct such an assessment can be high, both in terms of advancing science and in terms of providing useful information for decision makers

A pathway to identifying and valuing cultural ecosystem services: an application to marine food webs

Beyond recreation, little attention has been paid thus far to economically value Cultural Ecosystem Services (CESs), especially in the context of coastal or marine environment. This paper develops and tests a pathway to the identification and economic valuation of CESs. The pathway enables researchers to make more explicit, and to economically value, cultural dimensions of environmental change. We suggest that the valuation process includes a simultaneous development of the scenarios of environmental change including related biophysical impacts, and a documentation of culture-environment linkages. A well-defined ecosystem service typology is also needed to classify cultural-ecological linkages as specific CESs. The pathway then involves the development of detailed, multidimensional depictions of the culture-environment linkages for use in a stated preference survey. The anticipated CES interpretations should be confirmed through debriefing questions in the survey questionnaire. The proposed approach is demonstrated with a choice experiment-based case study in Turkey that focuses improvements to the food web of the Black Sea. The results of this study indicate that economic preferences for CESs other than recreation can be estimated in a way that is economically consistent using the proposed approach

How to make complexity look simple? Conveying ecosystems restoration complexity for socio-economic research and public engagement

Ecosystems degradation represents one of the major global challenges at the present time, threating people’s livelihoods and well-being worldwide. Ecosystem restoration therefore seems no longer an option, but an imperative. Restoration challenges are such that a dialogue has begun on the need to re-shape restoration as a science. A critical aspect of that reshaping process is the acceptance that restoration science and practice needs to be coupled with socio-economic research and public engagement. This inescapably means conveying complex ecosystem’s information in a way that is accessible to the wider public. In this paper we take up this challenge with the ultimate aim of contributing to making a step change in science’s contribution to ecosystems restoration practice. Using peatlands as a paradigmatically complex ecosystem, we put in place a transdisciplinary process to articulate a description of the processes and outcomes of restoration that can be understood widely by the public. We provide evidence of the usefulness of the process and tools in addressing four key challenges relevant to restoration of any complex ecosystem: (1) how to represent restoration outcomes; (2) how to establish a restoration reference; (3) how to cope with varying restoration time-lags and (4) how to define spatial units for restoration. This evidence includes the way the process resulted in the creation of materials that are now being used by restoration practitioners for communication with the public and in other research contexts. Our main contribution is of an epistemological nature: while ecosystem services-based approaches have enhanced the integration of academic disciplines and non-specialist knowledge, this has so far only followed one direction (from the biophysical underpinning to the description of ecosystem services and their appreciation by the public). We propose that it is the mix of approaches and epistemological directions (including from the public to the biophysical parameters) what will make a definitive contribution to restoration practice

Molecular tools for bathing water assessment in Europe:Balancing social science research with a rapidly developing environmental science evidence-base

The use of molecular tools, principally qPCR, versus traditional culture-based methods for quantifying microbial parameters (e.g., Fecal Indicator Organisms) in bathing waters generates considerable ongoing debate at the science-policy interface. Advances in science have allowed the development and application of molecular biological methods for rapid (~2 h) quantification of microbial pollution in bathing and recreational waters. In contrast, culture-based methods can take between 18 and 96 h for sample processing. Thus, molecular tools offer an opportunity to provide a more meaningful statement of microbial risk to water-users by providing near-real-time information enabling potentially more informed decision-making with regard to water-based activities. However, complementary studies concerning the potential costs and benefits of adopting rapid methods as a regulatory tool are in short supply. We report on findings from an international Working Group that examined the breadth of social impacts, challenges, and research opportunities associated with the application of molecular tools to bathing water regulations

Econometric Modelling: Basics

AbstractThis chapter addresses basic topics related to choice data analysis. It starts by describing the coding of attribute levels and choosing the functional form of the attributes in the utility function. Next, it focuses on econometric models with special attention devoted to the random parameter mixed logit model. In this context, the chapter compares different coefficient distributions to be used, addresses specifics of the cost attribute coefficient and it pays attention to potential correlations between random coefficients. Finally, topics related to the estimation procedure such as assuring its convergence or random draws are discussed