Valuing Environmental Services

Numerous services provided by the environment has no value in a traditional sense such as water filtration, carbon capture, preservation of endangered/ threatened species, etc. In order to place a market value on these unknown goods/ services the contingent valuation method (CVM) is often employed through surveys using WTP (willingness to pay for a good or service) or WTA (willingness to accept to forgo a good or service).

The goal of the following paper is to answer the question, “How valuable are marbled salamanders in their environment, specifically around mount Tom located in Holyoke, MA?” In such, due to their secretive nature and scarcity the paper will also answer the question of, “What is the economic cost associated with carbon sequestration in the area of Mount Tom reservation?” These 2 are important questions to ask as marbled salamanders are a critically endangered species in Massachusetts and are mainly found in deciduous forests and vernal pools around western MA. The location of Mount Tom in Holyoke, MA is used for this research as that is the location of our study site.

Using a normative approach in conjunction with CMV and MassGIS we were able to estimate the cost of marbled salamanders to be between 0 to well over ,000. On the other hand, carbon sequestration value of the area was estimated to be between ,000 to million dollars per year. The extremely large range in valuation is reflected upon and later discussed near the end of the paper.

Literature Review

As a child, many of us were taught the obscure value of one’s life and that mentality can also be said for many environmental services, natural resources and the preservation of endangered/ threatened species. Therefore, we rely on the contingent valuation method (CVM) to generate a willingness to pay or willingness to accept in order to give a value to something that traditionally held no monetary value. The CVM has been heavily used in the field of conservation to raise funds and public awareness for conservation projects as seen with the Giant Panda, the poster child for conservation since the 20th century.

Udziela and Bennett (2007) had created and conducted a pilot study to determine the CVM and ultimately willingness to pay (WTP) for the conservation of Least Tern in the state of Connecticut. Much like the typical study, the authors created a voluntary survey and went door to door to collect data from the participants. In such the surveyors were asked to describe the habitat and threats of the Least Tern and to emphasize to the participants that they will be expected to pay the amount reported if the tax passed. Afterwards, protest and the “warm glow” bids were identified by follow up questions regarding to why the answer was given as well as general demographic/ economic data and filtered out from the final figure. In the end these two reported that the mean WTP was 61.41 with a range of values stated from {rdaddphp file=php/clean_code.php}-0 and an extremely high standard deviation of 0.22 due to the small sample size.

A similar study was conducted by Loomis, Gonzalez-Caban and Gregory in association with the USGS for old growth forest in Oregon back in 1996. The same approach was used as described above this but found that the WTP (upper limit) for old growth forests to be per year per household. The lower limit for the WTP was per year/ household to illustrate unresponsive surveys at a value of {rdaddphp file=php/clean_code.php}. The numbers were later multiplied by the number of households in Oregon to determine the estimated value of services provided by the ecosystem.

The CVM has also seen its shares in resource management economics, to determine the value of ecosystem services of such ecosystems like tropical and temperate forests. (Damnya, Tyynela 2011; Costanza et al 1997; Costanza et al 2011; Woodward et al 2001). In these studies, CVM, WTP and replacement costs were used to show that ecosystems services values have dropped 4.3 to 20.2 trillion dollars per year between 1997 and 2011 due to the continuous fragmentation and destruction of the biomes. (Costanza et al 2011; Damnya et al 2011). For example, Woodward and Wui (2001), were able to determine the price per hectare of temporarily wetland at 7 via benefit transfer using valuation results from methods such as hedonic pricing, travel/ replacement costs and CVM.

Amongst the numerous CVM studies out there, many of the studies either focus on the ecosystem itself or the charismatic animals which inhabit the area. In the case of charismatic animals, emotional perception of the organism plays a significant role in determining one’s WTP as illustrated in Notaro and Grilli’s study back in July of 2019. The study was conducted in Northern France where the participants were given pictures of animals (wolf, lynx, alpine salamander) in different emotional states (neutral, happy, angry) to determine how WTP changes. The results produced were as expected in that generally happy/ neutral expressions of the wolf and lynx generated a higher WTP value than when the participants were exposed to an unhappy image of the 2. However, there was no significant difference in the WTP with different expressions from the alpine salamander which was expected due to its uncharismatic persona.

Like all the other studies listed above the work done by Degregorio, Willson and Dorcas (2014) used CVM to determine the, “Commerical Value of Amphibians produced from an Isolated Wetland.” In their study the authors were able to assign a commercial value of amphibians within a vernal pool located in Ellenton Bay, FL during the busy breeding period by using market value (how much does each organism cost in the pet trade) with surveying methods to determine the population abundance and size. In such, they estimated that the 10-hectare vernal pool was able to produce well over 3 million dollars’ worth of juvenile amphibians each year or approximately ,341 per hectare. Vernal pools are temporary wetlands filled ¼ to ½ of the year with water and were converted into farmland in the past. In such the lost opportunity cost was valued to be at approximately ,000/ hectare per year before operational expenses and taxes.

Methods

The study site for my eDNA study is the Whiting Reservoir Trail Head which is located within Mount Tom reservation located in Holyoke, MA. The site encompasses approximately 1,967 acres of forested areas according to Mass.gov. Using ArcGIS, I was able to determine that vernal pools occurs within only 123.02 acres of the 1900+ acres which are critical for environments for breeding amphibians. Those 123.02acres is equated to approximately 16 to 17 different sized pools as illustrated in the blue spots on the map to your right. 

Data and Results

With the location and land mass calculated, we can now move onto the experimental portion of the report. In previous surveys of the area, marbled salamanders were encountered approximately 1 out of every 5 vernal pools (3 pools in this case), with the average female laying between 50-200 eggs per season. As a r-selected species, a significant portion of the young will be unable to maturity/ reproductive age.

Just for hypothetical purposes lets use a 75% mortality of young and it is unknown how many will gather in the pool so that number will theoretically be 1-4 salamander per positive pool. The follow chart illustrates the minimum and maximum population produced set forth by the conditions listed above as well as the range of commercial/ economic value (market value) produced if sold for the pet trade.

Under the circumstances outlined above the total market value for marbled salamanders within Mount Tom reservation can be in the range of 0 to ,540 dependent on what market value you use (different vendors have different prices).

In terms of carbon sequestration value, we can use the figures provided above on the land coverage for the area as well as the per ton per acre value provided by Gorte, 2009. The cost of carbon sequestration in the reservation was estimated using the formula below and vernal pool sequestration was estimated using a weighted average as they are a seasonal habitat/ formation. 

The table above depicts the sequestered rate of carbon dioxide per year per acre as well as the total amount of carbon dioxide sequestered in the given biomes of Mount Tom reservation. The cost of storage was later calculated using the social cost of carbon estimated by Nordhaus in 2019 at usd/ ton per year. The high-end estimate of 5.50 is the current carbon dioxide tax set forth by the Swedish government (most environmentally friendly country). In such the total cost of carbon sequestration within the reservation is between ,685 to an upwards of ,736,525 per year. The values reported on the tables provided do not provide the overall cost provided by the ecosystem services, but the wetland cost can be estimated using the value found by Woodward (2001) multiplied by 123.02 acres (need to be converted to hectares first). 

Discussion and Conclusion

As stated above there is a wide range in the overall market value cost (CMV) for marbled salamanders residing within Mount Tom Reservation ranging between 0 to ,540 based on the vendor. Many assumptions were used to arrive to the estimate provided including per cost of salamander, its observed frequency to the overall survival rate to metamorphosis. Referring to Constanza (1997, 2011) and Degregorio, Willson and Dorcas (2014) a constant re-evaluation of the environment values is needed periodically to keep up with the science and consumer values towards the environment. Unlike Degregorio, Willson and Dorcas the frequency used above was based on a survey that occurred after the flooding of the Connecticut river which could had severely displaced marbled salamander and their larvae effecting the overall data produced. Another assumption purposed was the 75% survivorship range as no research was found depicting the survivorship of r- selected amphibians in the wild which may have brought bias into the data. As such more research is needed amongst these areas to give a more accurate estimate on the value of marbled salamanders.

Regarding carbon capture/ sequestration, pricing was heavily influenced by the accuracy of MassGIS in calculating land area, price per CO2 emission and the sequestration rates of different biomes as reported by Gorte in 2009.

As this paper is mainly based on hypothetical situations, please take the findings with a grain of salt and like many things in science, more research is needed. Results now will seem underestimated in the future as shown in Costanza 1997 and 2011 which illustrates the intricacy of values and goods over time due to a deeper understanding of ecosystem functions and values.

References

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