Geologija (Jun 2009)
Which monetary values for the quality of our environment? The example of pollution in the Krška kotlina alluvial aquifer in Slovenia
Abstract
The increasing integration of economic issues into environmental policy has put the valuation of environmentalgoods and services at the forefront of the agenda of experts and researchers involved in the design and implementationof this policy. In the case of water, the European Union Water Framework Directive clearly indicates theneed to consider environmental and resource costs in designing water pricing policies that better account for theenvironmental objectives of the Directive. And the assessment of environmental and resource costs is also referredto in the context of the definition of alternative environmental objectives in cases where costs of reaching the Directive’sobjectives are considered disproportionate or for allowing the development of new sustainable economicactivities.The paper presents the application of contingent valuation to assess the environmental costs that originate fromgroundwater (nitrates and pesticides) pollution in the Kr{ko kotlina aquifer. Average willingness-to-pay valuesfor groundwater quality improvements to stabilize groundwater quality below drinking water standards or to reducepollution close to natural background concentrations are equal to 4,7 € and 4,8 € per household per month,respectively. The location where respondents live, their income level or their appurtenance or not to an environmentalorganization are independent variables that influence respondents’ willingness to pay. The relatively lowoverall statistical significance of the regressions obtained stresses that only part of the variability of respondents’responses can be explained with the information obtained and variables considered. This is however in line withsimilar studies undertaken in other parts of Europe and elsewhere.Overall, the paper demonstrates that contingent valuation is possible under Slovenian conditions. In addition toproviding estimate of values of environmental costs and benefits, such contingent valuation surveys would contributeto raising people’s awareness on water protection and on significant water management issues faced in Slovenia.Finally, the paper suggests continuing to test and develop different valuation methods in Slovenia for otherwater types (e.g. surface water) as part of the support to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive.
