Differential impacts of policies or changes in environmental conditions on people is a growing area of interest to decision-makers, yet remains an often neglected area of study for the environmental valuation literature. Using data from a large national survey of over 24,000 people conducted in Canada, this paper implements a latent class Kuhn-Tucker recreation demand model to assess differences in preferences and values for nature-based activities. Preferences are disaggregated by self-reported Indigeneity, immigration status, and gender. We find that Indigenous people receive 63% greater benefits from participating in nature-based activities compared to non-Indigenous people living in Canada. Immigrants have the lowest participation in, and benefits associated with, nature-based activities. Similarly, women receive 21% lesser benefits associated with nature-based activities when compared to men. These results demonstrate that Indigenous peoples may be more vulnerable to adverse impacts on nature-based activities such as land-use changes, climate change, and government policies. The study also highlights the importance of disaggregated data and incorporating aspects of identity in the ecosystem service literature towards more equitable decision-making and reconciliation.

Differential impacts of policies or changes in environmental conditions on people is a growing area of interest to decision-makers, yet remains an often neglected area of study for the environmental valuation literature. Using data from a large national survey of over 24,000 people conducted in Canada, this paper implements a latent class Kuhn-Tucker recreation demand model to assess differences in preferences and values for nature-based activities. Preferences are disaggregated by self-reported Indigeneity, immigration status, and gender. We find that Indigenous people receive 63% greater benefits from participating in nature-based activities compared to non-Indigenous people living in Canada. Immigrants have the lowest participation in, and benefits associated with, nature-based activities. Similarly, women receive 21% lesser benefits associated with nature-based activities when compared to men. These results demonstrate that Indigenous peoples may be more vulnerable to adverse impacts on nature-based activities such as land-use changes, climate change, and government policies. The study also highlights the importance of disaggregated data and incorporating aspects of identity in the ecosystem service literature towards more equitable decision-making and reconciliation.

Cultural eutrophication—the pollution of water bodies with nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from human activities—and associated harmful algal blooms are key issues facing decision-makers, yet costs are often identified as a barrier to restoration. When designed in collaboration with impacted communities, economic valuation of lake ecosystem services can contribute to informed environmental decision-making by quantifying economic benefits of lake restoration and understanding the trade-offs people are willing to make. Here, we collaborate with the local community, stakeholders, and decision-makers to develop and implement a discrete choice experiment survey to estimate people's preferences and willingness to pay for restoring Elk/Beaver Lake, Canada, which has been experiencing worsening harmful algal blooms and other water quality issues. Over half of survey respondents (66%) indicated that water quality issues impact their use of the lake, and many (52%) indicated they did not feel safe swimming in or allowing their pets to drink from the lake (64%). Responses to the choice experiment are analyzed using choice models which reveal that the annual economic benefits of lake restoration across different model specifications ranged from $141 to $292 CAD per household with substantial heterogeneity across people. The aggregate annual benefits of lake restoration are $27 to $55 million which is notably greater than the estimated costs of restoration plans. This study contributes to the growing literature suggesting that there are substantial benefits to society from restoring lakes, thus the perception of cost as an insurmountable barrier to restoration of bloom-affected lakes requires reconsideration.

Cultural eutrophication—the pollution of water bodies with nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from human activities—and associated harmful algal blooms are key issues facing decision-makers, yet costs are often identified as a barrier to restoration. When designed in collaboration with impacted communities, economic valuation of lake ecosystem services can contribute to informed environmental decision-making by quantifying economic benefits of lake restoration and understanding the trade-offs people are willing to make. Here, we collaborate with the local community, stakeholders, and decision-makers to develop and implement a discrete choice experiment survey to estimate people's preferences and willingness to pay for restoring Elk/Beaver Lake, Canada, which has been experiencing worsening harmful algal blooms and other water quality issues. Over half of survey respondents (66%) indicated that water quality issues impact their use of the lake, and many (52%) indicated they did not feel safe swimming in or allowing their pets to drink from the lake (64%). Responses to the choice experiment are analyzed using choice models which reveal that the annual economic benefits of lake restoration across different model specifications ranged from $141 to $292 CAD per household with substantial heterogeneity across people. The aggregate annual benefits of lake restoration are $27 to $55 million which is notably greater than the estimated costs of restoration plans. This study contributes to the growing literature suggesting that there are substantial benefits to society from restoring lakes, thus the perception of cost as an insurmountable barrier to restoration of bloom-affected lakes requires reconsideration.

This paper synthesizes Canada's environmental valuation literature over the last six decades. Focusing on primary valuation benefit estimates, we link multiple research outputs from the same data collection effort to obtain an accurate measure of unique studies. We identify a total of 269 unique valuation studies conducted in Canada between 1964 and 2019. The number of valuation studies conducted per year has not increased since 1975 and the median data collection year is 1996. Stated preference (SP) methods are the most popular valuation approaches being used in more than 50% of studies and this share has increased to over 80% within the last decade. We discuss numerous gaps in our knowledge for certain environmental resources and regions, in particular Canada's three Northern territories. The paper provides information on the state of environmental valuation research in Canada and identifies future research needs.

Extensive wetland drainage has occurred across the Canadian Prairies, and drainage activities are ongoing in many areas (Dahl 1990; Watmough and Schmoll 2007; Bartzen et al. 2010; Dahl 2014; Prairi...

Extensive wetland drainage has occurred across the Canadian Prairies, and drainage activities are ongoing in many areas (Dahl 1990; Watmough and Schmoll 2007; Bartzen et al. 2010; Dahl 2014; Prairi...

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Canadians spend approximately 2.2% of the country's gross domestic product on outdoor recreation, but we do not yet know the economic benefits people receive from participating in these activities. I provide the first ever comprehensive assessment of the economic benefits of outdoor recreation in Canada. I use a nationally representative survey of recreational behaviour on over 24,000 Canadians to estimate a Kuhn–Tucker demand model that accounts for substitution between activities and satiation in demand. The results demonstrate that participation in outdoor recreation provides Canadians with $98 billion in annual economic benefits, which is well over twice as large as reported expenditures. I also reveal substantial heterogeneity in recreation benefits across activities and regions in Canada.

Canadians spend approximately 2.2% of the country's gross domestic product on outdoor recreation, but we do not yet know the economic benefits people receive from participating in these activities. I provide the first ever comprehensive assessment of the economic benefits of outdoor recreation in Canada. I use a nationally representative survey of recreational behaviour on over 24,000 Canadians to estimate a Kuhn–Tucker demand model that accounts for substitution between activities and satiation in demand. The results demonstrate that participation in outdoor recreation provides Canadians with $98 billion in annual economic benefits, which is well over twice as large as reported expenditures. I also reveal substantial heterogeneity in recreation benefits across activities and regions in Canada.

Stated preference methods remain the only means capable of estimating non-use values yet can suffer from many types of well-known biases. We construct an approach to identify the role of social desirability bias, relative to other potential survey biases, using a stated preference survey for improving the status of species at risk. The survey respondents were asked how they would vote, how they think their fellow survey participants would vote, as well as how they think people in their region would vote in an actual referendum. We find that willingness-to-pay estimates for public good (passive use) values differ across these vote question types. Our results demonstrate how stated preference practitioners can use multiple referent groups to help disentangle social desirability bias from other survey biases.

Travel cost models using the wage rate to value time make the implicit assumption that the value of time is equalized throughout the year. We develop a seasonal travel cost model that allows the value of time to vary by season. We estimate the model using data from a survey of recreational anglers in the Gulf of Mexico. We find that people’s value of time is 55% larger on average in the summer compared to other times of year and find substantial differences in derived welfare estimates if a time-constant value of time measure is used instead.