Value of Improved Environmental Quality
Attributes
Medium: Water
Country: Thailand
Analytical Framework(s): Contingent Valuation
Unit(s): Marginal WTP
Study Date: 2001
Publication Date: 2002
Major Result(s)
| Category | Resource/Environmental Good | THB, per person per year (2001) |
THB, per person per year (2014)1 |
USD, per person per year (2014)2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Quality Level | Marginal WTP for a change in flora and fauna | -699.00 | -948.24 | -28.81 |
| Average Quality Level | Marginal WTP for a change in local livelihood | -257.00 | -348.64 | -10.59 |
| Average Quality Level | Marginal WTP for a change in ecological function | -252.00 | -341.86 | -10.39 |
| Average Quality Level | Marginal WTP for a change in rare and endangered species | 46.00 | 62.40 | 1.90 |
| Good Quality Level | Marginal WTP for a change in flora and fauna | 265.00 | 359.49 | 10.92 |
| Good Quality Level | Marginal WTP for a change in local livelihood | 257.00 | 348.64 | 10.59 |
| Good Quality Level | Marginal WTP for a change in rare and endangered species | 204.00 | 276.74 | 8.41 |
| Excellent Quality Level | Marginal WTP for a change in flora and fauna | 434.00 | 588.75 | 17.89 |
| Excellent Quality Level | Marginal WTP for a change in ecological function | 252.00 | 341.86 | 10.39 |
| Excellent Quality Level | Marginal WTP for a change in rare and endangered species | 158.00 | 214.34 | 6.51 |
About the Inflation Adjustment: Prices in Thailand (THB) changed by 35.66% from 2001 to 2014 (aggregated from annual CPI data), so the study values were multiplied by 1.36 to express them in 2014 prices. The study values could be expressed in any desired year (for example, to 2025) by following the same inflation calculation and being sensitive to directional (forward/backward) aggregations using your own CPI/inflation data.
Study Note: This study focused on the willingness of the Thai people to pay for improved environmental quality in Phang Nga Bay and on their attitudes towards environmental protection. Many studies from Thailand and other parts of the world provide important lessons on ways to manage the impact of tourism and on mechanisms for financing environmental protection in similar sites.
Study Details
Summary: Thailand's Phang Nga Bay is under threat from unregulated tourism and the proposed Southern Seaboard Development Project. The project would involve construction of many infrastructure and industrial projects very close to important and sensitive tourist sites in the Bay. This study assessed the value placed on changes to the Bay's ecosystems by Thais so that these values can be taken into consideration when decisions are made on the expansion of environmentally damaging commercial activities. The population sample was chosen from Thais between ages 18 to 75 years, living in and traveling to Phang Nga Bay area. The study found the annual value of a 35% to 65% increase in environmental quality to be 5,784 million Baht (USD 144.6 million), equivalent to 8% of the gross provincial products of the combined provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga, and Krabi. The study also assessed environmental attitudes and found Thais to be strong advocates of environmental protection. The welfare estimates of improving the Bay's ecosystem showed that diversity of flora and fauna, which provides recreational and tourism benefits, is the most important attribute of the Bay. Local livelihood and ecological functions are equally important attributes while the rare and endangered species attribute is the least important. Over 35% of respondents considered protecting natural habitats and wildlife to be the most important issue for Thailand. Nearly 50% of the sample strongly agreed that they had a duty to protect the environment from development regardless of the cost. Eighty percent of respondents believed that natural resources were of value because of the benefits they could provide to future generations. Fifty-seven percent of respondents disagreed that Thailand needed to develop her forests, sea, and land to increase jobs and incomes, regardless of the environmental damage. Eighty-eight percent of the respondents agreed that mangroves and coral reefs should be protected because rare birds and marine lives depended on them. Fifty-six percent of respondents recognized the importance of non-use values. Sixty-three percent of respondents agreed that even if they did not use the mangroves and coral reefs now, they were prepared to pay a nominal sum to protect them for future use. Three-fourths of respondents showed a high appreciation of the indirect value of the mangroves. Finally, about 60% of the respondents disagreed that they had more important things to think about than the loss of the mangroves and coral reefs.
Site Characteristics: Thailand's 2,705 km long coastline gives it a high coastline to landmass ratio. The seacoast bordering the Gulf of Thailand is 1,840 km long, while that lining the Andaman Sea is 865 km. Thailand's main coastal resources are marine resources, mangrove and sea-grass beds, and coral reefs. In the past decade, largely due to uncontrolled economic activities, all of these have come under the threat of degradation or depletion. Between 1961 and 1993, Thailand's mangrove forests have been reduced from 367,000 ha to less than 168,676 ha when it was converted to other uses, such as aquaculture, mining, settlement sites, ports and roads, salt ponds and most significantly, marine shrimp aquaculture. Damages to coral reefs are caused by man as well as by natural forces. One of the major anthropogenic causes are increased tourism activities (such as snorkeling), which have resulted in localized cases of disturbance and damage to coral reefs. Sea-grass beds are generally in good condition, especially along the Andaman coast. Those found offshore in Phang Nga Bay are considered Thailand's largest.
Comments: This study uses a choice experiment to value coastal ecosystems in Phang Nga Bay. The advantages of the choice experiment are that values for each attribute as well as marginal rate of substitution between non-monetary attributes can be estimated. The success of the choice experiment depends on the design of the experiment, which is a dynamic process. It involves definition of attributes, attribute levels and customization, context of the experiment, experimental design and questionnaire development. Through the pre-test survey process it was possible to put to rest a number of concerns over the feasibility of the choice experiment approach as a valuation technique at the chosen site. The early drafts of questionnaire was carefully discussed with marine scientists. Considerable attention was paid to the wording of ecological attributes occurring in the questionnaire, in an effort to ensure that these could be easily followed and understood by respondents. There were ten ecosystem attributes in the original design. These were narrowed down to four since this is the number which most respondents can deal with. The survey instruments had been largely modified after the focus groups and pre-tests. During the course of the pre-test survey, visual aids (maps, texts, and graphics) appeared to be an effective means of communicating information, and they were consequently heavily relied upon in the main survey. The quality of the photographs plays an important role in communicating information on the mangroves and coral reefs of Phang Nga Bay. During the main survey, respondents were able to understand hypothetical situations and were very cooperative.