Stated Preferences for Ecotourism Alternatives On the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation

Despite favorable locations and the potential for economic development, Native American tribes have not developed their ecotourism markets substantially. This paper presents a choice experiment analysis of potential tourist and local resident preferences for alternative ecotourism development scenarios for the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. The choice experiments elicitation featured attributes of both cultural and nature-based tourist attractions. Survey results demonstrated that visitors interviewed at powwows had significantly different preferences from those interviewed at local tourist attractions. Results from all samples showed positive preferences towards an amphitheater, a nature trail, and a bison meal, and no preference toward an ATV trail. Non-powwow tourists had significant willingness to pay for a number of potential attractions, including nature trails, a road through the bison pasture, and an interpretive center with amphitheatre show.choice experiments, ecotourism, Native Americans, Standing Rock Sioux, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

THE USE OF CHOICE EXPERIMENTS TO ANALYZE CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR ORGANIC PRODUCE IN COSTA RICA

Choice Experiments are used to elicit Costa Rican consumer preferences for different attributes of organic and conventional vegetables in a hypothetical market. Focus groups identified a primary concern with the food safety and a secondary interest on the environmental impact of production practices. Two alternative national certification seals were proposed: 1) a "Blue Seal" certifying the Department of Public Health's approval for food safety; and 2) a "Green Seal" certifying Ministry of Agriculture's approval for environmentally sound production practices. Three other attributes were selected: "Appearance", "Size", and "Price". These attributes, together with the proposed labels, were presented in different combinations to a sample of 432 Costa Rican consumers at ten supermarkets located in the urban Central Valley. The results of the multinomial logit model demonstrate that the attributes "Appearance" and "Price" the have the strongest influence over the probability choosing alternative scenarios. Also, there was a significant preference for the "Blue Seal" and the "Blue Seal" and "Green Seal" combined. The socioeconomic variables turned out to be not significant in consumer choice. The results show a MWTP of 20% for the "Blue Seal" certifying healthy produce, and an additional 19% for the "Green Seal". The favorable acceptance of the certification seals on the part of the Costa Rican consumer can imply a large internal market for organic and ecologically healthy produce.Consumer/Household Economics,

Water Markets in Mexico: Opportunities and Constraints

In 1992, the Government of Mexico initiated a new national water law which decentralised water resources management and allowed the market transfer of water-use concessions between individual irrigators. These reforms were expected to improve water resources management through greater user participation in irrigation management, as well as to increase irrigators incentives to improve water-use efficiency. At the time of its proposal the 1992 Federal Water Law was considered to the first step in the establishment of limited water markets. This paper addresses the opportunities and constraints to improved water resource use and allocation through the market incentives that result from transferable water-use permits. The paper reviews water allocation institutions in Mexico and provides case studies of water allocation and decision-making.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Interbasin Transfers to Reduce Flooding: The Case of Devils Lake, North Dakota

Interbasin water transfers present particular environmental risks. Concerns over invasive species and biota transfer have restricted some water projects deemed beneficial to certain communities. The transfer of water from the Devils Lake basin in central North Dakota to the Red River of the North is an interesting case. Devils Lake has been a dry basin for most of the last 4000 years. From 1993 to 2004, the Lake has risen 24.5 feet and quadrupled in volume. This has caused $450 million in flood damages. In order to reduce flood damages the State of North Dakota has constructed an emergency water diversion project to pump Devils Lake water into a canal that eventually drains into the Red River. Manitoba has led efforts to fight the diversion, with concerns about Devils Lake’s water quality, biota transfer, and risk to Lake Winnipeg’s fisheries. North Dakota’s independent action demonstrates the ability of upstream states to divert water. And an August 2005 agreement between the U.S. and Canadian governments and signed by North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba demonstrates the capacity to compromise and collaborate toward mutual water management concerns. The protocol will initiate a joint rapid bio-assessment of the lake and further cooperation to reduce the risk of invasive species entering the Red River. This paper will present this case study of interbasin water transfer and focus on the institutional arrangements that are needed in order to manage international water basins while providing local constituencies the capacity to address local water concerns

Decentralizing water resource management : economic incentives, accountability, and assurance

Private sector involvement and user participation in water resource management are not new, say the authors. They give examples that demonstrate how willing users and the private sector are able to improve water use and play a larger role in water resources management. User participation and private sector involvement, if properly structured, can provide the incentives needed to stabilize and improve the efficiency of irrigation and water supply systems. They can add flexibility, transparency, and accountability and can reduce the state's administrative and financial burden. A 1989 World Bank review of 21 impact evaluations of irrigation projects, for example, found cost recovery to be excellent in those projects in which water management and operations and maintenance had been entrusted to water users. Greater private sector and user participation can effectively increase user responsibility for managing and financing water projects while freeing governments to focus on broader water resource management concerns. The authors provide examples of decentralized water management in developing country water supply and irrigation systems. Governments should: more actively regulate private sector exploitation of groundwater, especially for irrigation; take measures to encourage price competition among private suppliers of water for both domestic and agricultural uses; and play an active role in organizing water user associations, especially for irrigation and rural water supply systems, and in giving them technical assistance. As numerous examples highlight, such activities should be designed to reduce the transaction costs of organizing and to establish a sense of assurance and accountability within the water user community. Once this is done, the community can deal with problems associated with excludability and unwillingness to pay.Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions,Water and Industry,Water Use,Water Conservation,Town Water Supply and Sanitation

DEVELOPMENT OF MINIMUM COST, INCENTIVE BASED PLAN FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A TECHNOLOGY STANDARD FOR COFFEE PROCESSING IN HONDURAS

In Honduras, traditional coffee processing is the cause of two problems: poor coffee quality and contaminated water. In this study we propose to replace traditional coffee processing plants with a network of improved ecological plants that would be optimally located in a sub-watershed. The method is an adaptation of a spatial integer linear programming that determines the optimal location and size of new coffee processing plants. We applied the method to a typical sub-watershed in the hillsides of western Honduras and show that coffee quality can be improved and contamination can be reduced substantially at a relatively low cost. We also calculated the incentive for small farmers to give up home processing. We find that the incentive is much lower than the premium that could be obtained from an improved coffee quality.Agribusiness,

USING CHOICE EXPERIMENTS TO ELICIT FARMERS PREFERENCES? FOR CROP AND HEALTH INSURANCE

A random utility discrete choice experiments is used to determine farmers' preferences for health insurance, crop insurance, and a product that switches some portion of crop insurance subsidy to health insurance premium subsidy with access to large-pool risk groups.Risk and Uncertainty,

Identifying Market Preferences for High Selenium Beef

Selenium is an element found in relatively high concentrations in crops and livestock raised on high-selenium soils located in North and South Dakota. Evidence suggests that a high-selenium diet such as would be obtained from consuming these products can reduce the risk of certain cancers. The region's livestock and grain producers are exploring potential high-selenium product marketing opportunities. A choice experiment was conducted to identify preferred attributes for a high-selenium beef product and the characteristics of potential market segments. In a national survey, participants chose between different levels of health claim approval and research, prices, and selenium origin. A multinomial logit regression model was estimated. Labeling reflecting scientific support linking selenium and reduced cancer risk, and natural-source selenium was ineffective. Marketing opportunities identified are consistent with existing functional food market segments and include consumers with higher income and education, 45 to 55 years of age, and with children.Choice Experiment, FDA approval, Functional Foods, Health Claim, Labeling, Selenium, Consumer/Household Economics, Livestock Production/Industries,

TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY AND CONTAMINATION BY COFFEE PROCESSING A BIOECONOMIC MODEL AT THE WATERSHED LEVEL IN HONDURAS

In Honduras, traditional coffee processing is the cause of two major problems: poor coffee quality and contaminated water. In this paper we present a method that determines the trade-off between economic efficiency and contamination in a Honduran sub-watershed. The method is a bioeconomic model based on mathematical programming that stimulates the functioning of the interlinked economic and ecological processes in the sub-watershed. We compare various scenarii where the model is given the possibility of replacing traditional coffee processing plants with a network of improved ecological plants. For different levels of contamination the model determines the optimal location and size of new coffee processing plants along river streams by minimizing transport, variable and fixed costs. The restrictions of the system are the volume of wet coffee to be processed, the available stream water, and in the alternative scenarii, investment capital and contaminant concentration in the river. We apply the method to a typical sub-watershed in the hillsides of western Honduras and show that coffee quality can be improved and contamination can be reduced substantially at a relatively low cost.coffee, environment, water quality, mathematical programming, transport cost, spatial analysis, watershed, Honduras., Environmental Economics and Policy,