Measuring the total economic value of restoring ecosystem services in Erhai lake basin: results from a contingent valuation survey

The contingent valuation method is one of the most significant approaches of non-market valuation techniques and has been used widely. The authors take it as a tool to analyze the economic benefits of restoring ecosystem service in an impaired river basin, Erhai lake basin. To obtain accurate benefit estimates using CVM technique requires detailed descriptions of the resources being valued. Results from 100 in-person interviews indicate that 84.7% of the households in Erhai lake basin would like to pay for restoring the ecosystem services of Erhai. The analysis of the payment card data shows that the average willingness to pay (WTP) is 80.325 RMB Yuan per household per year. The annual aggregate benefits of restoring ecosystem services of Erhai lake Basin is at least 6.426x107 RMB Yuan, calculated by the number of the households about 800,000 in the Erhai lake basin. This result is a conservative estimate for the economic value of restoring the ecosystem services of Erhai lake basin because of the positive externalities of restoring the ecosystem services on the outside of Erhai lake basin.