Willingness to pay for the conservation of the Mauritian flying fox

Economic valuation of a mesocarnivore's impact management

Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) have interacted with humans during their common history. We used a contingent valuation method to assess the economic value of the management of this mesocarnivore's negative impacts. We carried out face-to-face interviews with 746 Greek residents, using a multiple-bounded discrete choice approach to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for red fox management under three impact situations: attack domestic animals, reduce game, carry disease. About 51.9%, 33.0%, and 81.1% of the respondents stated a mean WTP of €34.1, €44.9, and €72.1 for each situation, respectively. The total annual amounts of €18.7 million, €15.7 million, and €61.7 million could be collected from the target population for red fox management when they attack domestic animals, reduce game, and carry disease, respectively. Attitudes and likeability toward foxes were negatively associated while knowledge about foxes and fear of them were positively associated with WTP. The younger, richer, less educated, rural, farmers, hunters, and pet owners were generally more willing to pay for red fox management across situations. Females were more willing to pay for managing predation on domestic animals, while males were more willing to pay for managing predation on game. Our findings showed that the Greek residents highly value the management of red foxes in all impact situations and would be valuable for further advising the management process.

Economic Valuation of Northern White-Breasted Hedgehog Conservation

The northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus) is a charismatic insectivore mammal threatened by habitat loss, the use of biocides, and collisions with vehicles. We aimed at valorizing hedgehog conservation through the contingent valuation method for estimating the proportion and the amount of willingness to pay (WTP) and the effects of cognitions and sociodemographic characteristics on WTP. We collected data through interviews with 704 residents of four administrative regions of northern Greece. Binary logistic regression and Welsh–Poe interval regression were used for estimating the effects of predictors on the proportion and mean WTP, respectively. Most participants (58.2%) were WTP a mean of EUR 31.7 for hedgehog conservation, totaling EUR 21.9 million annually when projected to the population. Positive attitudes, mutualism wildlife orientations, intention to participate in hedgehog conservation actions, and participation in consumptive and non-consumptive wildlife-related recreational activities increased WTP. Highly educated females, with high income and a pet were more WTP than less educated males, with low income and without a pet. Findings provided necessary information to managers about the value of hedgehog conservation, the potential for raising required funds and the differences in WTP among and within public groups.

Economic Valuation of Balkan Chamois Conservation

The Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) is a caprine of the rocky mountain slopes, threatened in Greece by illegal hunting and population isolation. We used a contingent valuation method to assess the willingness to pay (WTP) for chamois conservation of 500 residents of the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Most of the participants (61.6%) were WTP a mean of EUR 41.6 for chamois conservation, totaling EUR 6.03 million for the target population. Attitudes toward and knowledge about chamois, moralistic worldviews (spiritual reverence and ethical concern for nature and wildlife), participation in wildlife-related consumptive outdoor activities (i.e., hunting and fishing), intention to participate in conservation actions for the species, and encounters with the species in the wild were positively associated with WTP for its conservation. Dominionistic worldviews (humans have mastery, physical control, and dominance of wildlife) were negatively associated with WTP, while highly educated females with high income were more WTP for implementing relevant conservation actions. Factors involving previous knowledge of the chamois positively influenced the WTP, thus, confirming the construct's bias toward charismatic species. The findings show that Greek residents highly value the chamois and its conservation and would be useful for advising this process and achieving its conservation management.

The Distribution and Community's Perception of Flying Fox, Pteropus vampyrus in Limbang, a Transboundary Area in Sarawak

Flying foxes are threatened throughout their geographic range, and there are large gaps in the understanding of their landscape-scale habitat use. This study identified potential habitats in Limbang, Sarawak and informed potential distribution based on dispersal and interview surveys. Here, biological surveys were combined with interviews of local communities in Limbang Mangrove National Park (LMNP), Sarawak to illustrate distribution and the communities' perception on the protected flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus). Mangrove forest areas were surveyed for for the presence of flying foxes and villagers were interviewed regarding the use by flying foxes of agricultural areas and instances of conflict. Boat and questionnaire surveys were conducted for nine days from 18 to 27 February 2021. The surveys did not record any flying fox roosting sites within the national park and was instead observed to fly from Menunggul Island, Brunei into the national park in the evenings and back to Brunei in the mornings. A total of 27 flying foxes were recorded during the boat survey. Flying foxes were detected from 8/154 survey points and their spatial distribution appeared to be concentrated along Sungai Limpaku Pinang. Most respondents were aware of the species while some have directly observed them in fruit orchards, mangroves, rivers and mixed dipterocarp forests. Eleven perception-based questions were presented, and results showed that locality and income were the most influential parameters exhibiting conservation awareness through Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) analysis. Most respondents believe that flying foxes can uplift the local economy through ecotourism opportunities. However, these findings need to be carefully interpreted as the species has a large home range. Hence, long-term monitoring should be established to generate a larger dataset for stronger analysis to better represent the distribution and occurrence of this species in LMNP.

Willingness to Pay to Improve Quality of Public Healthcare Services in Mauritius

Mauritius has a universal free healthcare system, based on the Beveridge model which is financed by taxpayers. There are growing considerations over improving quality of healthcare services. The purpose of the study is to employ a contingency valuation (CV) to investigate the willingness of Mauritians people to pay to improve the quality of public healthcare services and the associated determinants using the double-bounded dichotomous choice model. A drop off survey with a sample size of 974 respondents from the working population is used. The empirical analysis shows that the majority of the sample was willing to pay for improving quality of public healthcare services. Other than the conventional determinants of respondents’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, the findings support the assertion that psycho-social constructs such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Norm-Activation, Public Good Theory, and Perceived Response Efficacy are found to significantly affect Willingness-to-Pay (WTP). The results of this study might be of use to policymakers to help with both priority setting and fund allocation.