Suitability of discrete choice experiments for landscape management under the European Landscape Convention

[EN] Landscapes throughout the world are increasingly being altered as a result of human actions and natural processes, therefore necessitating urgent management. Acknowledging this situation, the European Landscape Convention (ELC) was approved in 2000 with the explicit objective of protecting, man...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: De Ayala Bilbao, Amaya, Hoyos Ramos, David, Mariel Chladkova, Petr
Format: article
Publication Date:2015
Country:España
Institution:Universidad del País Vasco
Repository:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/64556
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/64556
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:european landscape convention
discrete choice experiment
Llanada Alavesa
random parameter logit
willigness to pay
welfare measure
Description
Summary:[EN] Landscapes throughout the world are increasingly being altered as a result of human actions and natural processes, therefore necessitating urgent management. Acknowledging this situation, the European Landscape Convention (ELC) was approved in 2000 with the explicit objective of protecting, managing and planning European landscapes. In this paper, we provide empirical evidence on the suitability of the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) method-ology for valuing multidimensional landscapes under the ELC. An application in the Basque Country, Spain, serves as an example to illustrate that the DCE methodology may be suitable for supporting the aims of the ELC because: (i) it is a tool for public consultation; (ii) it offers an insight into the relative attractiveness of key landscape attributes, such as native forests and farming activities; and (iii) it provides policy-makers with quantitative information on the public preferences for potential future landscape protection, management and planning programmes. The results highlight the important role that the conservation of native forests and the promotion of organic farming may play in the management of European landscapes, which in turn is found to be strongly culturally dependent.