Exploring the motivations of protesters in contingent valuation: Insights for conservation policies

Contingent valuation approach has been criticised as fundamentally flawed because it fails to address the impact of protest respondents on the economic valuation exercise. In this study, we present results from an analysis of the factors behind protest responses in willingness to pay exercises for biodiversity conservation (non-use values) and ecosystem services maintenance (use values). The influence of the payment vehicle for stakeholder groups was also explored considering different contributions for conservations purposes, which included donation, 0.7% of income, willingness to give up time, and no possible contribution. The study was conducted in areas involving the only two national parks in Andalusia: the Doñana social-ecological system (SW Spain) and the Adra–Nacimiento social-ecological systems (SE Spain). Protest responses have been shown to reveal a great deal of information that should be considered for designing conservation policies. We found that the possibility of receiving protest responses related to implementing a payment for maintaining ecosystem services was higher than for biodiversity conservation and may vary according to respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, pro-environmental attitudes, and stakeholder typology. Generally, more of the efforts of environmental education programs regarding conservation policies should be aimed at older people with lower education levels and men. Furthermore, future strategies for conservation should consider individuals’ willingness to give up time for protection and restoration activities as a useful option.

Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights▶ Women, with high level of environmental values, and high education level were found to be more likely to participate in trust funds for conserving biodiversity or maintaining the ecosystem services it provides. ▶ Nature tourists and environmental and rural development professionals were those stakeholders more likely to be willing to pay for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services maintenance, respectively. ▶ Biodiversity conservation policies should be designed under a mixed approach that incorporates the utilitarian and ethical motives for biodiversity conservation considering the different views of stakeholders ▶ Willingness to give up time should be considered as a useful option in future studies for resolving limitations of traditional willingness to pay approaches and for designing biodiversity conservation policies.