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Wiley InterScience | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Conservation BiologyVolume 22 Issue 3, Pages 624 - 635 Published Online: 28 Jun 2008 ©2010, Society for Conservation Biology Published on behalf of the Society for Conservation Biology
Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 175K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking 
Contributed Paper
Economic Valuation of Biodiversity Conservation: the Meaning of Numbers Copyright ©2008 Society for Conservation Biology KEYWORDS attitudes toward animals • biodiversity conservation • conservation policy • economic valuation of biodiversity • meta-analysis • willingness to pay KEYWORDS actitudes hacia los animales • conservación de la biodiversidad • meta análisis • política de conservación • valoración económica de la biodiversidad • disposición a pagar ABSTRACTAbstract: Recognition of the need to include economic criteria in the conservation policy decision-making process has encouraged the use of economic-valuation techniques. Nevertheless, whether it is possible to accurately assign economic values to biodiversity and if so what these values really represent is being debated. We reviewed 60 recent papers on economic valuation of biodiversity and carried out a meta-analysis of these studies to determine what factors affect willingness to pay for biodiversity conservation. We analyzed the internal variables of the contingent-valuation method (measure of benefits, vehicle of payment, elicitation format, or timing of payment) and anthropomorphic, anthropocentric and scientific factors. Funding allocation mostly favored the conservation of species with anthropomorphic and anthropocentric characteristics instead of considering scientific factors. We recommend researchers and policy makers contemplate economic valuations of biodiversity carefully, considering the inherent biases of the contingent-valuation method and the anthropomorphic and anthropocentric factors resulting from the public's attitude toward species. Because of the increasing trend of including economic considerations in conservation practices, we suggest that in the future interdisciplinary teams of ecologists, economists, and social scientists collaborate and conduct comparative analyses, such as we have done here. Use of the contingent-valuation method in biodiversity conservation policies can provide useful information about alternative conservation strategies if questionnaires are carefully constructed, respondents are sufficiently informed, and the underlying factors that influence willingness to pay are identified. ABSTRACTResumen: El reconocimiento de la necesidad de incluir criterios económicos en el proceso de toma de decisiones sobre políticas de conservación ha impulsado el uso de técnicas de valoración económica. Sin embargo, aún se debate si es posible asignar valores económicos precisos a la biodiversidad, así como lo que esos valores realmente representan. Revisamos 60 artículos recientes sobre valoración económica de la biodiversidad y realizamos un meta análisis de estos estudios para determinar los factores que afectan la disposición a pagar por la conservación de la biodiversidad. Analizamos las variables internas del método de valoración contingente (medida de los beneficios, forma de pago, formato de respuesta o frecuencia de pago) y de factores antropomórficos, antropocéntricos y científicos. La asignación de recursos favoreció principalmente a la conservación de especies con características antropomórficas y antropocéntricas en vez de considerar factores científicos. Recomendamos que los investigadores y políticos contemplen cuidadosamente las valoraciones económicas de la biodiversidad, considerando los sesgos inherentes del método de valoración contingente y los factores antropomórficos y antropocéntricos resultantes de las actitudes del público hacia las especies. Debido a la creciente tendencia por incluir consideraciones económicas en las prácticas de conservación, sugerimos que equipos interdisciplinarios de ecólogos, economistas y científicos sociales en el futuro colaboren y dirijan análisis comparativos, tal como hemos hecho aquí. El uso del método de valoración contingente en las políticas de conservación de la biodiversidad puede proporcionar información útil sobre estrategias de conservación alternativas si los cuestionarios son cuidadosamente elaboradas, los encuestados estén suficientemente informados y se identifican los factores que influyen sobre la disposición a pagar. Paper submitted May 2, 2007; revised manuscript accepted October 30, 2007. | 
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The article One Hundred Questions of Importance to the Conservation of Global Biological Diversity is now available FREE online. | |
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Conservation Letters is a new, online-only scientific journal publishing empirical and theoretical research with significant implications for the conservation of biological diversity. |
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Conservation is a sophisticated, readable, and utterly practical magazine for people who are serious about conservation. |
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