DESIGNING NON-

MONETARY BENEFIT

INDICATORS THAT REFLECT USE AND PREFERENCES

Lisa A. Wainger

University of

Maryland Center for

Environmental

Science

Alternative Ecosystem Service Metrics

1. Management

Activity

2. Ecological Outcomes

3. Ecosystem Services

4. Social Benefits

Bridging Indicators Benefit Relevant Indicators

Monetary ValuesOUTPUTS

Increasing Information to Inform Tradeoffs

Benefit Relevant Categories

1. Quality is sufficient Beach is wide enough for recreation

2. Complements - Capital and labor available Boat ramps make boating possible

3. Demand - Users or beneficiaries present / possible # Houses protected (not already protected by seawall)

4. Reliability of the future stream of services Adjacent land is protected

5. Scarcity and substitutability Conservation Priority / no alternative restoration sites

Property ProtectionService Indicator Example

Bridge support

Value of time saved

(?)

Change in wave height at bridge

Reduced days of bridge closure

(? days / yr)

Commuting time saved

(4,000 hr/day)

Case Study - Mining Effects on AnglingEstimating Demand in the Absence of Use Data

Fishing Days Demanded by Origin (DDO)

Urban days demanded Rural days demanded

= Population ∙ Participation Rates (by demographic

segment) ∙ Days per Participant (by urban/rural)

Case Study – Estimate Spatial DistributionAngler Willingness to Travel

Urban Rural

USFS National Visitor Use Monitoring data

Spatial Distribution of Freshwater Fishing Days Demanded (DD) for Rural and Urban Anglers

Rural

Urban

Estimated Days Demanded by Study Area Watershed

Combining Indicators

Multivariate Statistics to Combine IndicatorsDistance Metrics

Initial State

Future State

Ideal State

Anti-Ideal State

Management Effectiveness

Quality Mapping Wildlife Viewing Service

Connectivity-Green Infrastructure Corridor

Rarity- # Rare Plants; - Only park occurrence

Attractiveness-Vegetation Diversity-Miles of Stream Adjacent to Trail

0

1

0

1 - 2

3 - 4

5 - 6

0

0.01 - 0.03

0.04 - 0.06

0.07 - 0.14

0.15 - 0.34

Gower DistanceMetric

Scarcity Metric

0.00 - 0.11

0.12 - 0.21

0.22 - 0.32

0.33 - 0.42

0.43 - 0.53

Outcomes

Key OutcomeDifferent Priorities with Non-monetary Metrics

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Site 1 Site 3

Eco

no

mic

Be

ne

fit

Ind

ex

Non-MonetizedBenefitsMonetizedBenefits

urban

- Property protection- Recreation

rural

- Existence- Bequest

Conclusions

Potential benefits are often reflected by the relative scarcity of the ecosytem good or service

Use BRIs to:

Demonstrate a service is possible

Characterize the scarcity

Benefit relevant indicators provide context for ecological indicators

Suggest what people might be willing to pay for, given their behavior within and outside of markets