J. For. Sci., 2015, 61(2):55-61 | DOI: 10.17221/86/2014-JFS

Monumental trees and their existence value: the case study of an Italian natural parkOriginal Paper

A. Asciuto, V. Borsellino, M. D'Acquisto, C.P. Di Franco, M. Di Gesaro, E. Schimmenti
Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy

This paper aims to the valuation of the benefits that a local community living in a protected area may perceive with regard to the presence of monumental trees. Financial resources to be destined for protection interventions have been decreasing more and more, with a high risk of losing this natural heritage. A CVM survey was carried out among theMadoniePark(Sicily,Italy) resident households, to evaluate the existence value of monumental trees of the Nature Trail named "Piano Sempria-Piano Pomo", represented by a population of "Giant hollies" and by 7 other individual trees. These are the main results of the CVM survey: the overall response rate was 40%, individual average WTPs were €12.37 for the protection of the holly population and €13.45 for all the monumental trees along the Nature Trail. The median WTPs were respectively €2.00 and €5.00. The aggregate WTP estimates for the Park residents range from a minimum of €10,520.40 to a maximum amount of €83,479.37 depending upon the investigated resource and the statistics considered.

Keywords: Contingent Valuation Method, Giant hollies, Parks, Sicily, Willingness To Pay

Published: February 28, 2015  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Asciuto A, Borsellino V, D'Acquisto M, Di Franco CP, Di Gesaro M, Schimmenti E. Monumental trees and their existence value: the case study of an Italian natural park. J. For. Sci.. 2015;61(2):55-61. doi: 10.17221/86/2014-JFS.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Amirnejad H., Khalilian S., Assareh M.H., Ahmadian M. (2006): Estimating the existence value of north forests of Iran by using a contingent valuation method. Ecological Economics, 58: 665-675. Go to original source...
    2. Asciuto A., Di Franco C.P., Schimmenti E. (2013): An exploratory study of sustainable rural tourism in Sicily. International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 11: 149-158. Go to original source...
    3. Asciuto A., Fiandaca F., Schimmenti E. (2004): Stima della disponibilità a pagare per la salvaguardia di un'area protetta siciliana dagli incendi boschivi. AESTIMUM, 45: 1-29.
    4. Bateman I.J., Carson R.T., Day B., Dupont D., Louviere J.J., Morimoto S., Scarpa R., Wang P. (2008): Choice Set Awareness and Ordering Effects in Discrete Choice Experiments, CSERGE Working Paper EDM 08-01: 43.
    5. Bimonte S., Pagni R. (eds) (2003): Protezione, fruizione e sviluppo locale: aree protette e turismo in Toscana. Available at http://www.irpet.it/storage/pubblicazioneallegato/105_BimontePagni.pdf
    6. Boyle K.J., Bishop R.C. (1987): Valuing wildlife in benefit-cost analyses: A case study involving endangered species. Water Resources Research, 23: 943-950. Go to original source...
    7. Cicia G., D'Amico M., Pappalardo G. (2009): La tutela del paesaggio olivicolo secolare: il caso degli ulivi saraceni di Chiaramonte Gulfi (RG). Rivista di Economia Agraria, 1-2: 123-147.
    8. Ciriacy-Wantrup S.V. (1947): Capital returns from soil-conservation practices. Journal of Farm Economics, 29: 1181-1196. Go to original source...
    9. Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerche sulla Interazione Tecnologia Ambiente (CI.RI.TA) (2008): Piano di Gestione Monti Madonie. Strategia gestionale. Available at http://www.artasicilia.eu/old_site/web/pdg_definitivi/definitivi/pdg_monti_madonie/1_relazioni/strategia_gestionale.pdf (accessed May 20, 2014).
    10. Day B.H. (1999): Do Scenario Context and Question Order Influence WTP? The Application of a Model of Uncertain WTP to the CV of the Morbidity Impacts of Air Pollution, in Benefits Transfer and the Economic Valuation of Environmental Damage in the European Union with Special Reference to Health, Final Report to the DG-XII. Brussels, European Commission, contract ENV4-CT96-0227.
    11. Dettori S., Falqui A., Muru D., Contini F. (2014): Strategie di gestione degli alberi monumentali: considerazioni tecniche sul caso di studio dell'oleastro di Luras (Sardegna). Arbor (in press).
    12. Doyle J.K. (2005): Face-to-face surveys. In: Everitt B.S., Howell D. (eds): The Encyclopedia of Statistics in Behavioral Science. New York, Wiley, 4: 2208-2213. Go to original source...
    13. Giardina G., Raimondo F.M., Spadaro V. (2007): A catalogue of plants growing in Sicily. Bocconea, 20: 3-582.
    14. Gios G., Notaro S. (2001): La valutazione economica dei beni ambientali: introduzione al metodo della Valutazione Contingente. Padova, CEDAM: 480.
    15. Hoyos D., Mariel P. (2010): Contingent valuation: past, present and future. Prague Economic Papers, 4: 329-343. Go to original source...
    16. ISTAT (2012): 15° Censimento Generale della Popolazione. Struttura demografica della popolazione Tavola Popolazione, Oct 9, 2011: 1-32.
    17. Kent M. (2003): Ecotourism, environmental preservation and conflicts over natural resources. Horizontes Antropológicos, 9: 185-203. Go to original source...
    18. Kotchen M.J., Reiling S.D. (2000): Environmental attitudes, motivations, and contingent valuation of non-use values: a case study involving endangered species. Ecological Economics, 32: 93-107. Go to original source...
    19. Lanfranchi M., Giannetto C., De Pascale A. (2014): Nature based tourism: natural balance, impacts and management. Quality-Access to Success, 15: 224-229.
    20. Loomis J.B. (1990): Comparative reliability of the dichotomous choice and open-ended contingent valuation techniques. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 18: 78-85. Go to original source...
    21. Loomis J.B., González-Cabán A., Gregory R. (1996): A Contingent Valuation Study of the Value of Reducing Fire Hazards to Old-Growth Forests in the Pacific Northwest. Portland, Oregon, USDA Forest Service: 23. Go to original source...
    22. Lorenzo A.B., Blanche C.A., Qi Y., Guidry M.M. (2000): Assessing residents' willingness to pay to preserve the community urban forest: a small-city case study. Journal of Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, 26: 319-325. Go to original source...
    23. Metcalfe P.J., Baker W., Andrews K., Atkinson G., Bateman I.J., Butler S., Carson R.T., East J., Gueron Y., Sheldon R., Train K. (2012): An assessment of the non-market benefits of the water framework directive for households in England and Wales. Water Resources Research, 48: W03526. Go to original source...
    24. Mitchell R.C., Carson R.T. (1989): Using Surveys to Value Public Goods: The Contingent Valuation Method. Washington, DC, Resources for the Future: 484.
    25. Raimondo F.M., Schicchi R. (2009): Nuove tipologie di monumenti arborei in Sicilia. In: Ciancio O. (ed.): Atti III Congresso Nazionale di Selvicoltura. Taormina (ME), Firenze, Oct 16-19, 2008: 1265-1268. Go to original source...
    26. Randall A. (1981): Property entitlements and pricing policies for a maturing water economy. Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 25: 195-212. Go to original source...
    27. Römer A.U. (1992): How to handle strategic and protest bids in contingent valuation studies. An application of two-steps Heckman procedure. In: Proceedings of the 32nd International Conference of the Applied Econometrics Association, Econometrics of Europe 2000, Brussels, Dec 4-5, 1992: 311-317.
    28. Sattout E.J., Talhouk S.N., Caligari P.D.S. (2007): Economic value of cedar relics in Lebanon: An application of contingent valuation method for conservation. Ecological Economics, 61: 315-322. Go to original source...
    29. Schicchi R., Raimondo F.M. (2007): Alberi monumentali delle Madonie. [Ph.D. Thesis.] Palermo, Università degli Studi di Palermo: 144.
    30. Signorello G., Cucuzza G., De Salvo M. (2006): Valutazione contingente del paesaggio agrario della Costa Viola. In: Marangon F. (ed.): Gli interventi paesaggistico-ambientali nelle politiche regionali di sviluppo rurale. Milano, FrancoAngeli: 251-260.
    31. Tyrväinen L., Väänänen H. (1998): The economic value of urban forest amenities: an application of the contingent valuation method. Landscape and Urban Planning, 43(1-3): 105-118. Go to original source...
    32. Wild C., Cooper C.P., Lockwood A. (1994): Issues in ecotourism. Progress in Tourism, Recreation and Hospitality Management, 6: 12-21.

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content