The recreational value of beaches in the Nelson Mandela Bay area, South Africa

Using beach visitation data collected via the administration of a questionnaire to 226 respondents, this paper estimates a random utility model of beach recreation. The relative value of selected attributes of beaches is estimated, and the recreational values of lost access to four Blue Flag beaches in the Nelson Mandela Bay area, namely Kings beach, Humewood beach, Hobie beach and Wells Estate beach, respectively are calculated to be R44.73, R24.61, R37.85 and R2.68 per person, per trip.

Estimating the value of a positive change in trout fly-fishing quality in the Rhodes trout fishery, Eastern Cape, South Africa

The Rhodes trout fishery, located in the North Eastern Cape, is one of South Africa’s premier fly-fishing destinations. The integrity of the fishery is, however, under threat due to various land-use practices, which could weaken its appeal as a tourist attraction. The aim of this study is to estimate the amount recreational users are willing to pay for a project to improve the trout habitat of waters managed by the Wild Trout Association (WTA) in this fishery in order to improve its fish population density by 100 per cent. Data were collected from a biased sample of 96 respondents via a questionnaire during September 2006 to September 2007. The median estimated willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the project was R245 per annum per person, and the total WTP was estimated at R171 500 per annum. A valuation function to predict WTP responses was also estimated, and showed that gross annual pre-tax income and the number of visits per annum were positive determinants of WTP. The results of this study show that policy-makers should take heed of the importance trout fly fishers attach to this fishery when declaring trout zones in the upper catchments of South Africa. The aggregate WTP estimation, however, constitutes only a partial analysis of value. A number of other factors and environmental value streams need to be analysed and compared with the value estimates generated by this study if adequate holistic decision-making is to take place with regard to trout stream improvement. More specifically, the aggregate WTP estimated in this study must be viewed as only one input into a comprehensive social cost-benefit analysis to determine the desirability of trout stream improvement for wider society

Determining the negative effect on house values of proximity to a landfill site by means of an application of the hedonic pricing method

This study applied the hedonic pricing method to determine whether a disused, solid waste landfill site has an adverse effect on the prices of low-cost houses in New Brighton, a neighbourhood of the Nelson Mandela Metropole, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The results of the study show that the landfill site has a negative effect on New Brighton house prices. The average increase in house value is R36.00 per one hundred metres from the landfill site. This increase amounts to 0.44 percent of the value of a house per 100 metres from the landfill. When the change in value is summed for all the properties in the sample area (allowing for variation in value change due to differing distances from the landfill site) the total disamenity effect of the landfill site is approximately R1.4 million

Low-income resident’s preferences for the location of wind turbine farms in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

There is a general consensus that South Africa should be generating more power through harnessing renewable energy resources, such as wind power. However, there is no consensus with regard to the location of such generating projects. This paper describes a wind farm project proposed for development in the Kouga Local Municipality, reports low-income local residents’ preferences on its nature and applies choice modelling to analyse these preferences. A questionnaire was presented to each respondent, the discrete choice experiment component of the questionnaire included two different onshore wind energy development scenarios and a status quo option. The scenarios differed by the combination of four elements: the distance of the wind turbines from residential areas, job creation, the number of turbines and a subsidy allocated to each household

A cost-benefit analysis of concentrator photovoltaic technology use in South Africa: A case study

The South African Government currently faces the dual problems of climate change mitigation and the rollout of electricity provision to rural, previously disadvantaged communities. This paper investigates the economic efficiency of the implementation of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology in the Tyefu area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, as a means of addressing these problems. Two cost-benefit analyses (CBA) are carried out in the study, namely a private CBA and a social CBA. The private CBA investigates the desirability of the CPV project from a private energy investor’s perspective, whilst the social CBA investigates the desirability of the CPV project from society’s perspective. The social CBA found that the project was socially viable and was, thus, an efficient allocation of government resources. The private CBA, on the other hand, found that investing in a CPV project was not financially viable for a private investor. With respect to the incentive scheme currently offered to private energy investors, it is recommended that the maximum bidding price of R2.85/kWh be increased. A sensitivity analysis of the bidding price showed that an increase of 300% is required to attract private investors into electricity generation projects

A cost-benefit analysis of concentrator photovoltaic technology use in South Africa: A case study

The South African Government currently faces the dual problems of climate change mitigation and the rollout of electricity provision to rural, previously disadvantaged communities. This paper investigates the economic efficiency of the implementation of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology in the Tyefu area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, as a means of addressing these problems. Two cost-benefit analyses (CBA) are carried out in the study, namely a private CBA and a social CBA. The private CBA investigates the desirability of the CPV project from a private energy investor’s perspective, whilst the social CBA investigates the desirability of the CPV project from society’s perspective. The social CBA found that the project was socially viable and was, thus, an efficient allocation of government resources. The private CBA, on the other hand, found that investing in a CPV project was not financially viable for a private investor. With respect to the incentive scheme currently offered to private energy investors, it is recommended that the maximum bidding price of R2.85/kWh be increased. A sensitivity analysis of the bidding price showed that an increase of 300% is required to attract private investors into electricity generation projects

Valuing user preferences for improvements in public nature trails around the Sundays River Estuary, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Many valuations have been made of changes to in-estuary attributes, but few have been made of out-of-estuary attributes. From a recreation perspective, an important type of out-of-estuary attribute is the availability of public paths by which to access attractive features of the estuary environment. This paper values an improvement in the level of public access in the form of an additional nature trail along the banks of the Sundays River Estuary in the Eastern Cape, but does not compare this value with the costs. By means of choice experiment modelling analyses it is estimated that in 2010 the marginal willingness to pay for an investment in a nature trail was R34 per user per annum. In order to determine whether the development of this trail is efficient, this benefit (R34 per user per annum) needs to be compared to the cost of the development, an analysis that remains to be done. However, this finding does serve to provide guidance on how much funding could efficiently be allocated to such a development – about ZAR1.22 million, assuming a social discount rate of 8.38%

Measuring the indirect costs associated with the establishment of a wind farm: An application of the contingent valuation method

Although a green energy source, the location of electrical generating wind turbines may cause a disamenity effect (negative externality). The establishment of a wind farm is known as a locally undesirable land use (LULU) and leads to the not in my backyard syndrome (NIMBY). In an application of the contingent valuation method (a survey technique which elicits individuals’ preferences and measures these preferences in monetary terms) a willingness to accept a framework was used to estimate the aggregate annual compensation required to allow the construction of a wind farm near Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa. This compensation amounted to R490 695. A binary choice Logit analysis found that retirement status, concern about climate change, concern about view shed impacts and the offer amount are important predictors of voting for or against the project

The value of the trout fishery at Rhodes, North Eastern Cape, South Africa: a travel cost analysis using count data models

Recent government legislation in South Africa (the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, No.10 of 2004) calls for the removal of trout from ecosystems and habitats where they may cause harm. The elimination of trout would, however, undermine the tourism appeal of many upper catchments in South Africa to recreational fishers. This paper reports the first formal recreational valuation of a trout fishery in South Africa - the one in and around Rhodes village, North Eastern Cape. The valuation is carried out by applying the individual travel cost method using several count data models. The zero truncated negative binomial model which allows for the non-negative integer nature of the trip data, for truncation as well as for over-dispersion, found that the consumer surplus per day and per trip to the Rhodes trout fishery was ZAR2 668 (US$334) and ZAR13,072 (US$1634), respectively in the year 2007, and the total consumer surplus generated was ZAR18,026,288 (US$2 253,286).trout, South Africa, travel cost method, count data, recreational value,

Data from: A revision of African helmeted terrapins (Testudines: Pelomedusidae: Pelomedusa), with descriptions of six new species

Using nearly range-wide sampling, we analyze up to 1848 bp of mitochondrial DNA of 183 helmeted terrapins and identify a minimum of 12 deeply divergent species-level clades. Uncorrected p distances of these clades equal or clearly exceed those between the currently recognized species of Pelusios, the genus most closely related to Pelomedusa. We correlate genetic discontinuities of Pelomedusa with data on morphology and endoparasites and describe six new Pelomedusa species. Moreover, we restrict the name Pelomedusa subrufa (Bonnaterre, 1789) to one genetic lineage and resurrect three further species from its synonymy, namely P. galeata (Schoepff, 1792), P. gehafie (Rüppell, 1835), and P. olivacea (Schweigger, 1812). In addition to these ten Pelomedusa species, we identify two further clades from Cameroon and Sudan with similar levels of genetic divergence that remain unnamed candidate species. We also note that some problematical terrapins from South Africa and Somalia may represent two additional candidate species. Some of the Pelomedusa species are morphologically distinctive, whilst others can only be identified by molecular markers and are therefore morphologically cryptic taxa