Using a choice experiment and birder preferences to guide bird-conservation funding

Conservation of biodiversity, including birds, continues to challenge natural-area managers. Stated-preference methods (e.g., choice experiment [CE]) are increasingly used to provide data for valuation of natural ecosystems. We used a CE to calculate birders' willingness to pay for different le...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation biology 2017-08, Vol.31 (4), p.818-827
Main Authors: Steven, Rochelle, Smart, James C. R., Morrison, Clare, Castley, J. Guy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Australia
avitourism
aviturismo
Biodiversity
Bird watching
birding
Birds
birdwatching
Capital Financing
Choice Behavior
Conservation
Conservation of Natural Resources - economics
Ecosystems
Endangered & extinct species
Endangered Species
Endemic species
Financing
Funding
management
Management methods
manejo
Modelling
Motivation
observación de aves
Payments
Preferences
protected areas
Rare species
Rivers
Species diversity
Streams
Threatened species
United Kingdom
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife tourism
Willingness to pay
áreas protegidas
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Summary:Conservation of biodiversity, including birds, continues to challenge natural-area managers. Stated-preference methods (e.g., choice experiment [CE]) are increasingly used to provide data for valuation of natural ecosystems. We used a CE to calculate birders' willingness to pay for different levels of bioecological attributes (threatened species, endemic species, and diversity) of birding sites with hypothetical entry fees. The CE was delivered at popular birding and avitourism sites in Australia and the United Kingdom. Latent< lass modeling results revealed heterogeneous preferences among birders and correspondingly variable willingness to pay. Four clear groups were apparent: quantity-driven birders, special-birds seekers, confused respondents, and price-is-noobject birders. Quantity-driven birders were attracted to sites that deliver high levels of diversity and endemic species for which they were willing to pay $135 and $66 to visit, respectively, above what they were willing to pay to visit a site with low levels of diversity and few endemic and threatened species. Special-bird seekers valued threatened species and high levels of endemic species most (willingness to pay $45 and $46, respectively). Confused respondents' preferences were difficult to determine, but they were the most sensitive to the hypothetical entry fees, unlike the price-is-noobject birders, who were not at all sensitive to cost. Our findings demonstrate that birders are amenable to paying for their preferred birding experience. These payments could provide an alternative source of funding in some avitourism sites on both public and private land. Such alternative revenue streams should be explored and given full consideration in increasingly competitive conservation-financing environments. La conservación de la biodiversidad, incluyendo a las aves, sigue siendo un reto para quienes manejan las áreas naturales. Los métodos de preferencia manifestada (p. ej.: el experimento de opción [EO]) cada vez se usan más para proporcionar datos para la valoración de los ecosistemas naturales. Utilizamos un EO para calcular la disposición de observadores de aves para pagar por diferentes niveles de atributos bioecológicos (especies amenazadas, especies endémicas y diversidad) de los sitios de observación de aves con cuotas de admisión hipotéticas. El EO fue llevado a cabo en sitios populares para la observación de aves y el aviturismo en Australia y el Reino Unido. Los resultados de modelado de c
ISSN:0888-8892
1523-1739
DOI:10.1111/cobi.12849