The Influence of Place on the Willingness to Pay for Ecosystem Services
Sponsor
We gratefully acknowledge the 406 Eugene Water and Electric Board ratepayers whose contributions made this research possible, and the Unites States Department of Agriculture, National Institute for Food and Agriculture program for financial support through award number 2011-67023-30108.
Published In
Society & Natural Resources
Document Type
Citation
Publication Date
8-2017
Abstract
Sense of place, including an individual’s attitudes toward specific geographic settings, is generally predicted to influence willingness to engage in place-protective behaviors. Relatively little research, however, has empirically examined the influence of people’s attitudes toward a place on their willingness to pay for environmental protection. Using the example of a payment for ecosystem services (PES) initiative in the McKenzie River watershed, Oregon, USA, we found that place attitudes were a significant predictor of respondents’ willingness to pay for a program designed to benefit drinking water quality. These results suggest that connecting conservation actions to landscapes that are meaningful to people may increase their financial support for PES and other conservation programs. While program managers have little or no influence over stakeholders’ political ideology, gender, or income, managers may be able to influence prospective PES buyers’ awareness and attitudes through targeted communications, thereby potentially increasing support for place-based conservation efforts.
Rights
© 2017 Taylor & Francis
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1080/08941920.2017.1347976
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/25969
Citation Details
Nielsen-Pincus, M. et al. 2017. The Influence of Place on the Willingness to Pay for Ecosystem Services. Society & Natural Resources, 30(12):1423-1441.