Tools for Better Decision Making: Bridges from Science to Policy - Climate Change Impacts on Freshwater Ecosystems - page 272

monetary cost attribute, levels of which were determined through a previous CV
study regarding this wetland (Birol et al . 2006b). Using these five attributes and
their levels, experimental design methods were employed to generate choice sets
containing alternative wetland management scenarios and an option to select
neither scenario. An example of a choice set is presented below.

Sample choice set

Which of the following wetland management scenarios do you favour? Option A and
option B would entail a cost to your household. No payment would be required for
'Neither management scenario' option, but the conditions at the wetland would
deteriorate to low levels for biodiversity, open water surface area and research and
education attributes, and no locals would be re-trained.

Wetland
management
Scenario A

Wetland
management
Scenario B

Neither management
scenario A nor
management scenario B:

Biodiversity Low High

Open water surface area Low Low

I prefer NO wetland
management

Research and education High Low

Re-training of locals 50 50

One-off payment € 3 € 10

I would prefer: Choice A £ Choice B £ Neither £

(Please tick as appropriate)

The CE survey was administered in February and March of 2005 with face-to-face
interviews with 407 members of the Greek public located in eight towns and two
cities. These locations were selected to represent a continuum of distances from
the Cheimaditida wetland, as well as rural and urban populations. The public's
WTP for improvements in each one of the four attributes were estimated and it
was found that on average the Greek public is willing, on average, to pay

€

7-8.4

€

per person for conservation of high levels of biodiversity; 6.5-10 for provision

€

of higher levels of their open water surface area; 3.2-6.2 for investments in

€

education and research; and 0.07-0.17 for re-training of a local farmer in an

environmental-friendly employment. These WTP values represent the economic
benefits the Greek public derives from higher levels of these attributes, which
when combined represent the cost they are willing to pay for sustainable
management of the wetland. When these economic benefits were compared with
the costs of providing higher levels of these attributes, it was found that the benefits
far exceeded the costs, which means investments in sustainable management of
this wetland would bring about welfare improvements in Greece.