Integrating Threatened Biodiversity in Monetary Ecosystem Accounting: Choice Experiments and Simulated Exchange Values

Abstract We present a valuation framework for measuring the non-market net operating surplus associated with threatened wild species preservation for monetary ecosystem accounting . We use the Simulated Exchange Value ( SEV ) method, which estimates the maximum benefit that could be internalized in a hypothetical market using the demand simulated from a choice experiment, a given market supply, and an assumed market structure. The choice experiment estimates willingness to pay (WTP), in addition to current tax-funded costs, for achieving different stock levels of wild species across threat categories defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. We apply this framework to the valuation of threatened waterbird species preservation in the coastal wetlands of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula. The results show that WTP increases as the number of threatened species decreases, with the critically endangered species generating the highest WTP and no statistically significant differences between vulnerable and endangered species. Based on our preferred model, we estimate a SEV of the net operating surplus of €2,850 per hectare per year for the current stock levels of threatened waterbird species. The equivalent variation estimated for the same stock level is €4,108 per hectare per year.