Home > Ningaloo Collaboration Cluster: Estimation and integration of socioeconomic values of human use of Ningaloo
Ningaloo Collaboration Cluster: Estimation and integration of socioeconomic values of human use of Ningaloo
| Title | Ningaloo Collaboration Cluster: Estimation and integration of socioeconomic values of human use of Ningaloo |
| Publication Type | Report |
| Year of Publication | 2011 |
| Authors | Hailu, A, Gao L, Durkin J, Burton M |
| Pagination | 1-46 |
| Date Published | 06/2011 |
| Institution | CSIRO’s Flagship Collaboration Fund |
| ISBN Number | 978-0-86905-983-8 |
| Keywords | Cluster, human use, Ningaloo, socio-economy |
| Abstract | Both conservation and socioeconomic objectives need to be addressed in the management of
natural assets like Ningaloo. If these concerns are perceived to be in conflict or partly in conflict
with each other, policy-makers and managers face the difficult task of balancing the two. This
balancing exercise becomes more difficult in the case of resources where some of the
socioeconomic benefits are largely non-market and, therefore, cannot be directly observed or
valued in market transactions.
Visitors are attracted to Ningaloo for fishing and other non-fishing recreation. These
recreational activities generate non-market benefits. That is, we are not able to observe directly
the value people attach to the opportunities or the sites that are made available for recreation.
The market transactions associated with recreation, such as the money that visitors spend for
accommodation, food, transport and other activities, represent only a portion of the
socioeconomic benefits of these recreational activities in the region. The approach adopted in
our study therefore adds a new dimension to the information typically reported on tourism and
economic benefits of recreation. Visitor expenses are cost to the visitors and, although they
generate benefits to the regional economy, do not capture or reflect the full value derived from
recreation. The true value of recreation is the economic surplus that visitors gain over and above
what they spend as they engage in recreational activities. This economic surplus is defined as
the monetary amount visitors would be willing to pay (WTP) for the opportunity to recreate
over and above the cost associated with the recreation. This surplus value has to be inferred
using non-market valuation techniques which utilize information derived from surveys of
visitors (see below) or from observations of recreational behaviour. The term “economic
welfare” is alternatively used to describe the economic surplus value.
Economists have developed techniques that help generate value estimates for the natural
environment and these have been applied to a diverse set of valuation problems over the last
three decades. In studies of recreation, economists usually employ site choice models, which
hypothesize that people make choices to maximize the satisfaction (utility) they derive from
recreational choices. Further, the techniques link choice to site characteristics, making it
possible for the researcher to infer the relative values of different site attributes or
characteristics. In summary, site choice models provide two useful results: a model of
recreational behaviour and value estimates for both sites and site attributes. This project developed site choice models for Ningaloo and used these models to evaluate
economic surplus value (or economic welfare) changes arising from management changes.
Further, the project developed the site choice models into agent-based models that can be used
for simulating recreational choices and associated welfare changes under different management scenarios. In the sections below, we present the specific objectives of the project, its findings
and their management implications. |
| Refereed Designation | Unknown |
