peer reviewed | This study analyzed the potential use of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) as a strategy for improving water supply management. This study focused on the Siminehroud Sub-basin due to its high importance to the Basin of Urmia Lake (UL). Siminehroud is the second provider of water (by volume) to Urmia Lake. To evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of a PES scheme, the current land use map was extracted using satellite imagery. In addition, the two algorithms of Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) are used for Landsat images classification, rather than analyzing the relationship between land use and ecosystem services. Then, the most relevant ecosystem services provided in the region were evaluated using the Benefit Transfer Method. In the last step, by designing and implementing a survey, on the one hand, the local farmers' Willingness to Accept (WTA) cash payments for reducing the area they cultivate, and on the other hand, the farmers' Willingness to Pay (WTP) for managing the water consumption were determined. The results illustrated that the WTA program is more acceptable among the beneficiaries. It is also notable that this program needs very high governmental funding. Furthermore, the results of the program indicate that the land area out of the cultivation cycle will gradually increase while the price of agricultural water will also increase.

Black carbon (BC) exposure in China continues to be relatively high, prompting researchers to assess BC exposure levels using data from monitoring sites, satellite remote sensing, and models. However, data regarding the application of a combined strategy comprising the analysis of monitoring data and various types of data to simulate BC exposure levels are lacking. Hence, the current study seeks to estimate short- and long-term BC exposure levels by combining national monitoring data with data from the second Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2). Furthermore, this study attempts to improve the spatio-temporal resolution of BC exposure levels using Bayesian maximum entropy (BME). The BME model performed well in terms of estimating short- (R² = 0.74 and RMSE = 1.76 μg/m³) and long-term (R² = 0.76 and RMSE = 1.3 μg/m³) exposure. Premature mortalities and economic losses were also assessed by applying localised concentration–response coefficients simulated in China. A total of 74,500 (95% confidence interval (CI): 23,900–124,500) and 538,400 (95% CI: 495,000–581,300) all-cause premature mortality cases were found to be associated with short- and long-term BC exposure, respectively. Meanwhile, short-term BC exposure was associated with economic losses ranging from 7.5 to 13.2 billion US dollars (USD) (1 USD = 6.36 RMB on January 19, 2022) based on amended human capital (AHC) and willingness to pay (WTP), accounting for 0.06%–0.1% of China's total gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 (1.2 × 10⁴ billion USD), respectively. The economic losses for long-term exposure varied from 53 to 93.2 billion USD based on AHC and WTP, accounting for 0.4%–0.8% of China's total GDP in 2017, respectively.

In recent years, ozone pollution has become more and more serious in China. Several epidemiological studies have demonstrated the correlation between short-term ozone exposure and several health risks including all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and respiratory mortality. In this study, the daily ozone exposure levels with 10 km × 10 km resolution were estimated based on satellite data derived from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and the monitoring data. The health impacts for potential decrease in the daily ozone concentration and the corresponding economic benefits in 2016 were estimated by applying the environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program-Community Edition (BenMAP-CE) model. By reducing the daily maximum 8-h average concentration of ozone to 100 μg/m³, the estimated avoided all-cause mortalities were 120 × 10³ (95% confidence interval (CI): 67 × 10³, 160 × 10³) cases and the correspondingly economic benefits ranged from 36 to 64 billion CNY using amended human capital (AHC) and willingness to pay (WTP) method in 2016. If the daily maximum 8-h average concentration of ozone were rolled back to 70 μg/m³, the estimated avoided all-cause mortalities were 160 × 10³ (95% CI: 98 × 10³, 230 × 10³) cases and economic benefits ranged from 54 to 95 billion CNY based on AHC and WTP methods.

Along with the rapid socioeconomic development, air pollution in China has become a severe problem. One component of air pollution, in particular, PM2.5 has aroused wide public concern because of its high concentration. In this study, data were collected from over 900 monitoring sites of the newly constructed PM2.5 monitoring network in China. The interpolation methods were used to simulate the PM2.5 exposure level of China especially in rural areas, thus reflecting the spatial variation of PM2.5 pollution. We calculated the health benefit caused by PM2.5 in China in 2014 based on Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP), assuming achievement of China National Ambient Air Quality Standard (No. GB3095-2012). By reducing the annual average concentration of PM2.5 to the annual Grade II standard (35 μg/m3), the avoided deaths for cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and lung cancer could reach 89,000 (95% CI, 8000–170,000), 47,000 (95% CI, 3000–91,000) and 32,000 (95% CI, 6000–58,000) per year using long term health function, respectively. The attributable fractions of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and lung cancer to all cause were 42%, 22% and 15%, respectively. The total economic benefits for rolling back the concentration of PM2.5 to the level of 35 μg/m3 were estimated to be 260 (95%CI: (73, 440) billion RMB and 72 (95%CI: (45, 99) billion RMB using willingness to pay (WTP) and human capital (HC) methods, respectively, which account for 0.40% (95%CI: (0.11%, 0.69%) and 0.11% (95%CI: (0.07%, 0.15%) of the total annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of China in 2014.

Marine plastic pollution (MPP) is one of the most pressing issues especially for fast-growing economies in the Global South where addressing it involves both government and personal actions to achieve effective waste management policies. Alternative modelling strategies accounting for personal traits and beliefs (latent attitudes) which are unobservable characteristics are frequently overlooked in policy assessment studies. This study combines contingent valuation and latent traits questions to derive the willingness of Indonesian respondents to support MPP mitigation initiatives. One and two-step models are compared to test the sensitivity of results to modelling assumptions. Latent traits help to understand the willingness to pay (WTP) for MPP and one and two-step approaches produce comparable results. On average respondents are willing to pay £15, per person, per year to reduce MPP, or 2% of the average monthly salary. Local and international organizations should consider motivations and latent traits when designing MPP mitigation strategies.

In this study, we conducted an experimental panel survey in Norway, Germany and Portugal to explore consumers' willingness to pay more for products that are certified microplastic free. This is placed within the context of private certification schemes and private governance as mechanisms to increase consumer conscientiousness, establish a higher environmental standard in terms of microplastic and reduce marine pollution. We find that consumers in general are very conscious about the issue, would generally prefer products that are microplastics free, but would seldom choose these when there is a price premium on the label. This had a geographical offset though, with the results aligning with that of political trust in the nation, with Norwegians being less likely to purchase items with price premiums for private governance labels, and Portugal being most likely to – even with a price premium.

A contingent valuation study is conducted in three locations in Turkey using a total of 1362 observations to elicit willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid the acute respiratory illness (three days of severe coughing and throat pain). This is the first research of this kind in Turkey, and also one of a few studies conducted in developing countries. Median WTPs are estimated as 65, 51, and 83 PPP-adjusted 2012 USD for Afsin-Elbistan, Kutahya-Tavsanli and Ankara, respectively. Income elasticities of WTP are derived as 0.8 for Afsin-Elbistan and tested statistically indifferent from 1.0 for Kutahya-Tavsanli, and Ankara, and are found to be greater than the cases in existing studies conducted both in developed and developing countries. We also find that 60 to 90 percent of WTP are devoted for avoiding pain and discomfort/restricted activity days, and much less weights are given for avoiding possible financial losses. As for the determinants of WTP, university graduates, those who have experienced coughing within one month, have spent out-of-pocket medical expenses and actually lost some part of their income due the last experienced minor symptoms are willing to pay more to avoid the future acute respiratory illness while women and the household using coal as the main source of home-heating are willing to pay less in one or more study areas. New air quality standard for PM10 (transition from 150 μg/m3 to 40 μg/m3 by 2019) causes the reductions in minor respiratory symptoms by 11, 8, and 4.4 per person, and the resulting welfare gains are calculated as 157 million, 123 million, and 1464 million PPP-adjusted 2012 USD for Afsin-Elbistan, Kutahya-Tavsanli and Ankara, respectively.

This study investigates the knowledge and attitudes of the Greek public towards marine plastic pollution and the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive by interpreting the results of a questionnaire. In Greece, the issue of marine plastic pollution has been highlighted by scientists. Public consultation processes about the implementation of the Directive into the national law have been also carried out. However, the results of our study showed that participants were not informed about the issue of marine plastic pollution nor the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive. Nevertheless, they expressed positive attitudes towards it including their willingness to pay and act in order to reduce their plastic waste. Thereby, it is recommended that more initiatives should support the publicity of the Directive so that the Greek public would be able to participating in the decision-making process and support its implementation. In addition, the current study suggests that the topic of microplastics should be integrated into the context of formal education.

Coral reefs constitute the most biologically productive and diverse ecosystem, and provide various goods and services including those related to fisheries, marine tourism, coastal protection, and medicine. However, they are sensitive to climate change and rising temperatures. Taiwan is located in the central part of the world's distribution of coral reefs and has about one third of the coral species in the world. This study estimates the welfare losses associated with the potential damage to coral reefs in Taiwan caused by climate change. The contingent valuation method adopted includes a pre-survey, a face-to-face formal survey, and photo illustrations used to obtain reliable data. Average annual personal willingness to pay is found to be around US$35.75 resulting in a total annual willingness to pay of around US$0.43 billion. These high values demonstrate that coral reefs in Taiwan deserve to be well preserved, which would require a dedicated agency and ocean reserves.

Biodiversity refers to genetic diversity and complex sets of communities and ecosystems. Environmental degradation can jeopardize biodiversity and decrease ecosystem service quality. Biodiversity is not an endless and free commodity, and the costs of its destruction must be taken into account. Thus, estimating the monetary value of a region’s biodiversity can help stakeholders understand its economic, social, and cultural status, and ultimately, by increasing public awareness, community demands for protection and investment are properly shaped. This study aims to estimate the monetary value of biodiversity in the Central Alborz Protected Area in Iran. This area is part of the Alborz Mountain range and the wildlife and plant species of this region have a unique biodiversity. For this purpose, the willingness to pay was estimated. In designing the Choice Experiment, five attributes including “wildlife species status,” “plant species status,” “natural landscape,” “research facilities,” and “tourism facilities” have been considered. The results showed that maintaining and improving the status of animal species and tourism conditions among respondents has a higher priority than the other three attributes. The annual value of marginal willingness to pay was 13020 Tomans per person and the conservation value of biodiversity is estimated at 23 billion Tomans. Also, the results of the simple Logit model showed that the average per capita willingness to pay the respondents to protect the region is 16,369 Tomans and the value of biodiversity protection is about 28.6 billion Tomans.