Influence of environmental attitudes and time horizons on the valuation of lagoon ecosystem services: A choice experiment approach using principal component analysis

Coastal lagoon habitats provide multiple ecosystem goods and services that contribute to people's well-being. However, owing to degradation from both anthropogenic and natural causes, these areas require conservation and protection that involve considerable public investment. To help determine this investment, this study estimates the nonmarket economic value of habitat, regulation, and cultural ecosystem services (ESs) using people's environmental attitudes and temporal preferences. Primary data were collected from 517 residents in the Veneto region through an online choice experiment survey. Respondents' environmental attitudes and beliefs were collected using the revised New Ecological Paradigm scale and analyzed using principal component analysis. Mixed logit models were applied to evaluate the marginal willingness to pay under different scenarios. The implicit discount rate linked to the different ESs varied between 2% and 6%, showing ESs should be discounted with distinct rates. Total household indirect and nonuse values for ESs ranged from <euro>93 to <euro>118, according to the model used. The results suggest that people are willing to pay to improve the conservation of lagoon ESs and that the future environmental impacts are valued less than the immediate effects. Additionally, people with environmental attitudes are more likely to contribute to the protection of ESs, and unobservable factors such as motivations, attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs guide people's valuations. These findings can be used to guide policymakers in designing sound conservation policies.