Effects of Great Barrier Reef Degradation on Recreational Demand: A Contingent Behaviour Approach

Degradation of coral reefs may affect the number of tourists visiting the reef and, consequently, the economic sectors that rely on healthy reefs for their income generation. A Contingent Behaviour approach is used to estimate the effect of reef degradation on demand for recreational dive and snorkel trips, for a case study of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia. We assessed how reef degradation affects GBR tourism and to what extent reef-trip demand depends on the visitors’ socio-economic characteristics. A count data model is developed, and results indicate that an average visitor would undertake about 60% less reef trips per year given a combined 80%, 30% and 70% decrease in coral cover, coral diversity and fish diversity, respectively. This corresponds to a decrease in tourism expenditure for reef trips to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park of about A$ 136 million per year.Coral Reef, Recreation, Contingent Behaviour Model, Count Data Models

Shark-diving tourism as a financing mechanism for shark conservation strategies in Malaysia

This study estimated the economic value of the shark-diving industry in Semporna, the most popular diving destination of Malaysia, by surveying the expenditures of diving tourists and dive operators through the region. A willingness-to-pay survey was also used to estimate the potential of the industry as a financing mechanism for enforcement and management of a hypothetical Marine Protected Area (MPA) to conserve shark populations. The study showed that in 2012, shark-diving tourism provided direct revenues in excess of USD 9.8 million to the Semporna region. These economic benefits had a flow-on effect, generating more than USD 2 million in direct taxes to the government and USD 1.4 million in salaries to the community. A contingent valuation analysis indicated that implementation of a fee paid by divers could generate over USD 2 million for management and enforcement of the MPA each year. These findings suggest that shark diving is an important contributor to the economy of the Semporna region that could be used as a mechanism to assist financial resourcing for management and conservation strategies

QuickScan hoofdlijnennotitie 'Ontwikkeling en beheer van natuur in Nederland' : globale toetsing van effectiviteit en doelmatigheid

Provincies en Rijk zetten met de Hoofdlijnennotitie een nieuwe lijn uit voor het natuurbeleid. Met de jaarlijkse 200 miljoen euro uit het Regeerakkoord VVD-PvdA, extra geld van de provincies en extra grond krijgt natuur een impuls. Met de uitvoering van de afspraken is een significante verbetering van Nederlandse natuurkwaliteit waarschijnlijk. Dat betekent dat de leefgebieden van veel planten- en diersoorten verbeteren en dat zij duurzaam kunnen voortbestaa

The challenges of volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Impact of orthodontic treatment need and deviant occlusal traits on oral health–related quality of life in children: A cross-sectional study in the Generation R cohort

Introduction: Many studies have investigated the impact of orthodontic treatment need (OTN) on children's oral health–related quality of life (OHRQOL). However, few studies have explored the impact of deviant occlusal traits on OHRQOL re