Valuing ecosystem diversity maintenance services of the Shandong marine
protected areas: an application of
the contingent valuation method
Yi Xiao1, Shang Chen2, Zhiquan Cao2, Tao Xia2 and Linhua Hao2
1
College of Economics, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, PR China
First Institute of Oceanography, SOA Qingdao, PR China. E-mail:
qdcs@163.com
2
Eighty-eight marine protected areas (MPAs) have been established in Shandong
coastal waters of the west Yellow Sea. Estimates of the value of ecosystem diversity
maintenance services generated by these protected areas were derived using the
contingent valuation method (CVM). Input for estimation of contingent values were
obtained using a questionnaire administered
in Jinan (as an example of an
inland city) and Qingdao (as an example of a coastal city), in November 2014. The
survey was designed to elicit
local urban residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for
maintaining all 88
MPAs. The total of all Shandong urban residents’ WTP
represents an estimate of
the value of the ecosystem diversity maintenance
services of all Shandong MPAs. The mean estimated WTP per inland city resident is
56.08CNY, 19.11CNY higher than the mean estimated WTP per coastal resident
(36.97CNY). Based on these estimates and on estimates of inland and coastal city
populations, it is estimated that in 2014, the value of ecosystem diversity maintenance
service of the 88 Shandong MPAs is 1.924 billion CNY, an average value of 21.9
million CNY per MPA. Twelve natural reserves are included in the network of MPAs;
the value of ecosystem diversity maintenance services they provide is estimated to be
0.714 billion CNY (an average of 59.51million CNY per MPA). The MPA network
includes 30 special protected areas with an estimated value of 0.650 billion CNY, or
21.51 million CNY per MPA. The estimated value of ecosystem diversity
maintenance service of the 46 aquatic germplasm resources protection areas is 0.57
billion CNY, or 12.88 million CNY per MPA. These results indicate that the value of
natural reserves approved by the Environmental Protection Department is higher than
the value of special protected areas approved by Marine Management Department
which are, in turn, more valuable than the aquatic germplasm resources protection
areas approved by the Fisheries Management Department. The results suggest that
management measures pertaining to these three kinds of MPAs should be assessed
and the different measures should be adopted for each.