Using the life satisfaction approach to economically value the health and wellbeing benefits of forest and green space visits in Italy

Despite increasing attention and growing evidence of the health benefits of spending time in forests and green spaces (GS), very few studies have attempted to place an economic value on these benefits. The life satisfaction approach represents a promising method of non-market valuation that could capture holistically the health and wellbeing benefits of such environments. Employing primary data from a representative sample of 1400 respondents in Italy, we present value estimates from the life satisfaction approach and the well-established contingent valuation method. We find that visiting forests and GS at least once in the past year is associated with higher life satisfaction. Using the marginal rate of substitution between income and forest/GS visits, our results indicate that an additional €11,171 in annual income would increase life satisfaction by the same amount as visiting forests/GS in the past year. This value is complemented by estimates of stated willingness to pay (WTP) from the same sample using the contingent valuation method. WTP per forest/GS visit is estimated as €18 and aggregate annual values are calculated based on visit frequency. Results from both methods complement each other, providing estimates of both experienced and decision utility, offering more comprehensive information to policy and decision makers. Both methods indicate that forests and green spaces are important contributors to health and wellbeing, associated with significant economic values. This is the first paper to use the life satisfaction approach to value the benefits of forest and GS visits in Italy, making an important contribution to the literature. • Using the life satisfaction and contingent valuation method we value health and wellbeing benefits of forest visits in Italy. • The benefits of these visits using the life satisfaction approach are equivalent to €11,171 in average income. • Willingness to pay estimated using the contingent valuation method is €18 per visit, or between €27 and €6541 per annum. • These estimates are complimentary, providing estimates for both decision and experience utility of forest visits.