Forest Recreation Values compared over time

Background and Objective

The current willingness to pay for forest visits close to home in Germany is determined with the help of a panel survey representative of the whole of Germany. For this purpose, a survey concept is used that was used in an identical form twelve years previously; in addition, several methodologically well comparable regional case studies are available from the decades before. This also allows changes in recreation preferences over time to be shown on the basis of the respective results.

Approach

The "Contingent Valuation Method" is used to determine the willingness to pay (WTP) for recreational access to the forest in the neighbourhood of the respective place of residence over a period of one year. 

Two variants of the valuation method are used: Variant 1 uses the "consequential" design of the previous studies unchanged, in which the valuation was carried out by means of an iterative series of open questions supported by a payment card. In variant 2, these valuation questions are preceded by a single dichotomous choice question. The latter produces statistically less efficient results, but is well suited as a reference method, as it is considered in the literature to be incentive-compatible (i.e. the only approach that prevents strategically manipulated answers on the part of respondents).

Data and Methods

A total of 4,625 responses from an internet panel survey conducted in September 2023 are available as input data. As the place of residence of the respondents was also recorded there, the results can be linked with data from the general regional statistics and thus regionalised. Furthermore, those questions were included in the survey that are also used to construct the regularly surveyed GfK Consumer Climate Index. This makes it possible to examine  whether and how the respective assessment of the economic situation affects willingness to pay; if applicable, this will make it easier to explain changes in willingness to pay over time and thus also to use the Consumer Climate Index for WTP forecasts. 

Our Research Questions

In terms of content, the study focusses on the following questions:

• What benefits does the German population currently derive from the ecosystem service "forest recreation", and what monetary value do they place on it?
• Have visitor behaviour and monetary valuation changed in recent years and decades (for example, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic) - and how can such changes be explained?
• Do the recreational values and their changes over time differ regionally (e.g. between urban and rural areas or between different federal states)?

From a methodological point of view, the survey design also allows potential error sources of the CVM to be investigated further:

• Do the empirical results of the two valuation variants differ substantially at all - and if so, why?
• Does a preceding dichotomous choice question change the answers to the subsequent evaluation questions, for example because the respondents orientate themselves towards the bids offered the choice question?
• Which results appear more plausible in comparison with results from the literature and also according to statistical criteria?

Links and Downloads

• Projectsite:
  Recreation Value of Forests (Duration: 10.2011 - 3.2013)