Estimating the non-market costs and benefits of native woodland restoration using the contingent valuation method

The restoration of native forests is an important priority forforestry and conservation organizations in the United Kingdom.The economic case for public sector support for native woodlandrestoration in the United Kingdom rests almost entirely on theprovision of non-market benefits related to wildlife, landscapeand recreational opportunities. This paper describes a discretechoice contingent valuation (CV) to estimate the value of thenon-market benefits of restoring two native pinewood forestsin Affric and Strathspey. If only the willingness to pay (WTP)of those who supported the restoration plan was considered,the average benefit estimate per household was £35 forAffric and £53 for Strathspey. When the compensation requiredby a small proportion of respondents who preferred the currentmoorland landscape, was estimated mean WTP was unchanged forAffric, but fell to £24 for Strathspey. The study highlightsthe need to take account of non-market benefits and costs whenevaluating land use change, otherwise benefits may be overestimatedand there is a possibility that the wrong projects will be selected.The sensitivity of CV values to the scope of the environmentalchange are also investigated and the issue of embedding discussed.