Burned forest area or dead trees? A discrete choice experiment for Catalan citizens

Authors

  • Verónica Farreras Argentine Institute of Nivology, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences (IANIGLA – CONICET)
  • Robert Mavsar Mediterranean Regional Office of the European Forest Institute (EFIMED)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7201/earn.2012.02.06

Keywords:

Discrete choice experiments, fire behaviour, fire prevention measures, social preferences, social valuation

Abstract

This paper estimates the social-welfare change due to the application of additional fire prevention measures on Mediterranean forests. The discrete choice experiment is applied to elicit the social preferences regarding fire prevention measures in terms of their impact on fire behaviour –fire propagation and intensity- and to estimate the value of these measures for the society. The results of the study show that additional fire prevention measures increase the welfare of the Catalan population and that fire propagation is the descriptor of fire behaviour that most concerns the population. This information may be used by policy makers and environmental managers to design their programmes and activities.

Published

2012-11-26

Issue

Section

Articles