A Model to Estimate Willingness to Pay for Harvest Permits for Wild Edible Mushrooms: Application to Andalusian Forests
1
University of Valladolid. Campus Duques de Soria, Soria 42002, Spain
2
Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon CITA, Zaragoza 50059, Spain
3
European Mycological Institute (EGTC-EMI), Soria 42003, Spain
4
Micocyl-Junta de Castilla y León-Fundación Cesefor, Soria 42004, Spain
5
Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute University of Valladolid-INIA, Palencia 34004, Spain
6
Institute for Public Goods and Policies, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid 28037, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Ir. Kris Verheyen
Forests 2016, 7(12), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/f7120292
Received: 22 September 2016 / Revised: 7 November 2016 / Accepted: 18 November 2016 / Published: 25 November 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management Strategies for Forest Ecosystem Services)
Public demand for harvesting wild edible mushrooms has risen in recent decades and currently affects many forested areas around the world. The idea of introducing permits for users has been conceived as a tool for ecosystem management. The problem is that policy-makers lack the necessary means to help guide them when establishing prices for such harvesting permits. Valuing the recreational benefits which mushroom harvesters derive from harvesting wild edible mushrooms may provide certain guidelines as to how much people would be willing to pay and may also justify future payments levied on harvesters. The aim of the present article is to estimate a model for determining citizens’ willingness to pay for a harvesting permit in a forest in Andalusia (Spain) using contingent valuation methods. Results show that mean willingness to pay is 22.61 Euros (USD28.18) per harvester and season. This amount depends on several socioeconomic factors and preferences related to harvesters’ experiences.
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MDPI and ACS Style
De Frutos, P.; Martinez-Peña, F.; Aldea, J.; Campos, P. A Model to Estimate Willingness to Pay for Harvest Permits for Wild Edible Mushrooms: Application to Andalusian Forests. Forests 2016, 7, 292.
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