Willingness to Pay for Improved Water Supply Services Based on Asset Management: A Contingent Valuation Study in South Korea

Estimating the Economic Values of Restricted Monoculture Eucalyptus Plantations: A Choice Modeling Approach

Today, evaluating ecological wellbeing and ecosystem services is becoming a great concern towards conserving the natural resource base. Healthy functioning ecosystems have fundamental roles for aiding humankind to lead a healthy life and ensure an improved social welfare. Estimating the non-market benefits of ecosystem services can help experts and the public frame policy directions designed for landscape development. The ecosystem of the Eucalyptus hotspot highlands of northwestern Ethiopia, where this study was carried out, provides services that are essential to changes in the life of the society and biodiversity. However, in recent years, the ecosystem is facing a serious threat from intensive monoculture plantations of Eucalyptus. This has resulted in transformation of the cultural landscapes and a loss of biodiversity. The problem in turn calls for designing appropriate ecological improvement programs. Thus, the current study examined the preferences of residents concerning this area and estimated their willingness to pay (WTP) for the proposed ecosystem improvement programs using a Choice Experiment approach. Data were aggregated from 388 residents using a questionnaire survey in January 2020. The survey contained ecological improvement schemes and a hypothetical event by which respondents expressed their willingness to pay a yearly utility fee as a compensation for the improvement programs. Results showed significant differences in resident preferences towards the proposed ecological improvement attributes. The findings also indicated that the socioeconomic backgrounds of residents contributed for the heterogeneity in their WTP for ecological improvement schemes. Accordingly, the marginal willingness to pay of residents was USD 205/person/year for the respective ecological improvement attributes. The findings suggest that policy makers should consider such attribute-based public preferences while planning landscape development and conservation programs. This study can provide vital policy implications and contribute to knowledge as it presents how the non-market valuations of ecosystems help maximize social welfare.

Spatiotemporal Variation and Driving Factors of Water Supply Services in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of China Based on Supply-Demand Balance

Water supply services (WSSs) are critical to human survival and development. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model enables an integrated, dynamic, and visual assessment of ecosystem services at different scales. In addition, Geodetector is an effective tool for identifying the main driving factors of spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem services. Therefore, this article takes the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA), the most prominent strategic reserve of freshwater resources in China, as the study area and uses the InVEST model to simulate the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the supply-demand balance of WSSs and freshwater security patterns in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2018, and explores the key driving factors of freshwater security index (FSI) with Geodetector. The total supply of WSSs in the TGRA decreased by 1.05% overall between 2005 and 2018, with the head and tail areas being low-value regions for water yield and the central part of the belly areas being high-value regions for water yield. The total demand for WSSs in the TGRA increased by 9.1%, with the tail zones and the central part of the belly zones being the high water consumption areas. In contrast, the head zones are of low water consumption. The multi-year average FSI of the TGRA is 0.12, 0.1, 0.21, and 0.16, showing an upward trend. The key ecological function areas in the TGRA are high-value FSI regions, while the tail zones in the key development areas are low-value FSI regions. Industrial water consumption significantly impacts FSI, with a multi-year average q value of 0.82. Meanwhile, the q value of industrial and domestic water consumption on FSI in 2018 increased by 43.54% and 30%, respectively, compared with 2005. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal variation of WSSs and detects the drivers in the natural-economic-social perspective and innovation in ecosystem services research. The study results can guide water resource security management in other large reservoirs or specific reservoir areas.

Evaluation of Priority Control District Metered Area for Water Distribution Networks Using Water Quality-Related Big Data

Partitioning methodologies such as district metered areas (DMAs) are being applied to the stable maintenance of water distribution network systems in normal conditions such as daily operation and abnormal conditions such as water quality and leakage accidents. However, management and evaluation through the use of existing DMAs generally only have the primary goal of stable water quantity and pressure management. Therefore, the methodology can be limited to achieving the direct effects of water quality parameters such as decreased water age, proper management of residual chlorine, and decreased water quality complaints. This study uses a methodology for determining and prioritizing water quality-oriented Priority Control District Metered Areas (PCDMAs) for stable water quality management to respond to the recent large-scale rusty (red) water crisis in Korea. First, 4 evaluation criteria and 11 evaluation indicators were derived using various water quality-related structured data (water quality measurement data, pipeline data, etc.) and unstructured data (water quality complaints, etc.) based on the Geographic Information System (GIS). A comprehensive prioritization assessment was carried out with multi-criteria decision-making methods based on the analytic hierarchy process. As a result, particular indicators of complaint of water quality and the existence of vulnerable facilities (hospitals, school, etc.) were analyzed as the top five priorities, and it was shown that to be important criteria in determining water quality-oriented PCMDAs. Finally, the proposed methodology was applied to the B metropolitan city of the Republic of Korea, and the evaluation results of all the districts were derived and analyzed. The study shows that the data-based water distribution network PCDMAs selection methodology can be used as a decision-making tool to improve the accuracy and reliability of the operation and management (O&M) of the water distribution operator’s water distribution network. In future research, it will be necessary to evaluate PDDMA with detailed data related to the pipe deterioration (buried environment, the condition of internal/external of the pipe, etc.), which had a significant threshold due to data limitations. And it would be possible to make a real-time evaluation of PCDMA with the real-time water quality test data.

Water Value Integrated Approach: A Systematic Literature Review

Extreme water incidents point out a value conflict surrounding the resource. While drought and floods echo the inadequate land and resource uses, the increase in social inequalities exposes the practical, physiological, and social consequences. The multiple value action throughout the water cycle also narrowed disputes to those that neglect its vital importance, and the constraints imposed to the services, such as low tariffs, and lack of local engagement, make sustainable water systems more difficult. This article develops a systematic literature review to understand the academic motivations surrounding water value and gaps in its systematic approach. A sample with 84 papers is created by an interactive keyword selection and its general characteristics are presented. A dynamic reading technique extracts data and classifies the papers according to 14 research motivations, where the water multifunctionality and the user value stand out. The bibliographic coupling analysis identifies a cluster of 16 papers related to integration and connected to planning, decision, and management. There is a lack of contribution with a systemic approach to water resources by way of integrating actors and values, such as including local contexts.