Cecilia Håkansson

Non-Market Valuation of the Coastal Environment - Uniting Political Aims, Ecological and Economic Knowledge

In this paper, we examine the feasibility of using an approach for estimating Willingness-To-Pay for marine environmental improvements, based on a holistic, policy-determined scenario. Conducting valuation studies based on a policy-determined scenario is beneficial for decision-makers in terms of practical applicability but also for research in terms of e.g. data availability. Using a case study in two Swedish coastal areas, we examine whether respondents are able to understand and attach a monetary value to these types of scenarios. The tested scenarios are based on improving water quality according to the EU Water Framework Directive and reducing noise and littering according to standard-type measures in a Swedish archipelago setting. The results are promising, paving the ground for future valuation studies using this approach. However, there might be tradeoffs, since the use of scenarios like this require much preparation by researchers and much efforts by respondents. We recommend environmental managers to adopt this approach when possible, but to have these potential tradeoffs in mind. Mean monthly WTP per household for the water quality improvement scenario is estimated to 71 and 102 SEK(1) in the two study areas, respectively. The corresponding numbers for the less noise and littering scenario are 38 and 46 SEK. Valuation of noise and littering in archipelago areas has previously not been very common, making these estimates especially important for marine policy.

Including second order effects in environmental assessments of ICT

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can have both negative and positive impacts on the environment. Immediate negative environmental impacts arise due to the production, use and disposal ...

Baltic Sea nutrient reductions--what should we aim for?

Nutrient load reductions are needed to improve the state of the Baltic Sea, but it is still under debate how they should be implemented. In this paper, we use data from an environmental valuation study conducted in all nine Baltic Sea states to investigate public preferences of relevance to three of the involved decision-dimensions: First, the roles of nitrogen versus phosphorus reductions causing different eutrophication effects; second, the role of time - the lag between actions to reduce nutrient loads and perceived improvements; and third; the spatial dimension and the roles of actions targeting the coastal and open sea environment and different sub-basins. Our findings indicate that respondents view and value the Baltic Sea environment as a whole, and are not focussed only on their local sea area, or a particular aspect of water quality. We argue that public preferences concerning these three perspectives should be one of the factors guiding marine policy. This requires considering the entire range of eutrophication effects, in coastal and open sea areas, and including long-term and short-term measures.

Valuation of oil spill risk reductions in the Arctic

ABSTRACT In this study, data from a contingent valuation (CV) study in Lofoten, Norway, are used to assess the value of ecosystem services at risk from oil spills in the Arctic. It is investigated to which extent subjective opinion about the probability of a potential oil spill steers respondents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for reducing risk. The respondents’ preferences are analysed for ecosystem services. Finally, differences in WTP for two hypothetical spill scenarios are considered: one where measures are taken to reduce the probability of a spill and one where measures are taken to reduce the probability and impacts in the event of an accident. The findings indicate that measures should focus on alleviating the impacts of oil spills on ecosystem services generally, rather than on any specific ecosystem service. Furthermore, respondents’ perception of risk is higher than the estimated objective risk. The findings also suggest that respondents are more concerned about preventing the occurrence of oil spill accidents (usually considered to be more frequent than they actually are) compared to preventing the impacts of a spill. One policy implication is to focus more on policies that decrease the probability of spills than on policies that decrease the subsequent ecological impact.

Detailed vs. fuzzy information in non-market valuation studies: the role of familiarity

We apply a split-sample contingent valuation survey to test whether the level of ecological information affects the willingness to pay (WTP) and valuation uncertainty for improved water quality. For respondents who are unfamiliar with water quality problems, the WTP is significantly different between the sample that received detailed ecological information and the sample that received fuzzy information. This study also provides new empirical evidence for the counterfactual; in a situation with high familiarity, more information does not affect mean WTP. The main recommendation to future valuation practice is to provide detailed ecological information in the case when many respondents are unfamiliar with the good. The level of information did not influence valuation uncertainty.

Exploring distributional determinants of large carnivore conservation in Sweden

This paper aims to fill the gap in the literature about distributional impacts (who wins and who loses) of implementing new management plans for non-market priced environmental goods and services. The focus is on whether and to what extent, age, gender, presence of large carnivores and income affect willingness-to-pay (WTP) for increasing large carnivore stocks in Sweden. Our results contradict findings from previous studies on large carnivores in the sense that patterns change when different distributional dimensions are analysed together. The results indicate that WTP is independent of the presence of large carnivores, except for the group ‘young men’. In general, young men are found to be a disparate group.

Arctic games: an analytical framework for identifying options for sustainable natural resource governance

Abstract Changes in the Arctic are fuelled by a variety of drivers, including global warming, economic growth, improved access to natural resources, technological advances and globalisation processes. Further, the region is characterised by a diverse set of international agreements, national legislations and common pool resources. This presents challenges for actors to suggest, evaluate and agree on sustainable development alternatives. We propose an analytical framework to better understand (1) the types of trade-offs associated with Arctic futures and (2) actors’ incentives for strategic behaviour. In the framework, game theory illuminates incentives and strategies among actors, cost-benefit analysis and economic valuation of ecosystem services help identify socially desirable outcomes and institutional analysis provides insight on how governance structures can support or interfere with policy intervention. We apply the proposed framework by analysing possible oil development futures for Lofoten in Northern Norway. For example, institutional analysis and estimates of costs and benefits of reducing oil spill risk and their distribution among actors are used for discussing incentive structures, including the use of side payments as a mechanism to mitigate conflicting interests.

Estimating Distributional Effects of Environmental Policy in Swedish Coastal Environments – A Walk Along Different Socio-Economic Dimensions

This paper studies distributional effects of environmental policies in Swedish coastal environments, in monetary and environmental quality terms, for different dimensions: income, gender, age, non-users vs. users, distance, familiarity, and origin (if people have a Swedish background or not). The study area is widely used for different recreational activities and has a mix of different visitors. The data come from a choice experiment study. The results indicate that latent class modelling can be used to identify how monetary preferences vary between different groups of respondents, and largely confirm the limited existing knowledge from the previous research on distributional effects of environmental policies. However, the previous literature on distributional effects related to background is very limited, making it hard to draw comparisons. The results in our paper also show that the distributional effects differ depending on the environmental amenity. These results are of policy relevance since coastal environments are important for peoples well-being and associated with positive health effects.

Benefit Transfer for Environmental Improvements in Coastal Areas: General vs. Specific Models

In this study, we used choice experiment data to analyze the accuracy of benefit transfer (BT) between two case study areas in Sweden for attributes relevant to the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and special consideration zones in marine areas. The accuracy and reliability of a BT based on a model including only easily available socioeconomic information is similar to the accuracy of a BT based on a model that gives the best statistical fit, but requires time-consuming data collection. Further, the former model has almost as good a fit as the latter. The BT error varies significantly across the attributes, regardless of which model is used. The results are inconclusive as to whether socioeconomic adjustments improve transfer or not.

Costs and benefits associated with marine oil spill prevention in northern Norway

Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyse conflicts regarding natural resources and ecosystem services involving different stakeholder groups using cost–benefit analysis (CBA). The paper is formed around a specific case study in Lofoten–Vesterålen in northern Norway, investigating costs and benefits of decreasing the probability of a major oil spill from shipping in the area. Benefits of decreasing the probability of a spill are far greater than costs, which means that measures to improve maritime safety would be economically profitable for society. Figures showing the effects of the impacts on fisheries and tourism sectors indicate that, compared to the total value for society, the market values of decreasing the probability of a spill are very small. On the other hand, non-market values associated with the protection of ecosystem services are of a much greater magnitude. These results suggest that the neglecting of non-market ecosystem service values in economic assessments for the Arctic may cause a biased picture of costs and benefits associated with measures to prevent environmental degradation. When feeding into decisions, such assessments may lead to too little preventive action from an economic perspective.