The economic value of ecosystem conservation: a discrete-choice experiment at the Taravo Wild River in Corsica, France

Abstract

This article contributes to the literature on non-market evaluation methods, applied to ecosystem services. The ecological status of the Taravo River is currently under threat by human activities. In this context, we value some of the ecosystem services provided at the Taravo River Basin using a stated-preference approach. Four different econometric estimations were considered for this discrete-choice experiment. On average, respondents are willing to pay 128 euros per year for the enhancement of the ecosystem services selected. This result is in line with those obtained in recent contributions that have applied similar approaches. Beyond this average, this article conducts a spatial analysis to confirm the different willingness to pay on the territory (upper versus lower Taravo).

Keywords

• discrete-choice experiment
• ecosystem services
• non-market valuation
• spatial econometrics
• stated-preferences methods