Norms and the willingness to pay for coastal ecosystem restoration: A case of the Tokyo Bay intertidal flats

• Published in: Ecological economics 2020-03, Vol.169, p.106423, Article 106423
• Main Authors: Tokunaga, Kanae, Sugino, Hiroaki, Nomura, Hideaki, Michida, Yutaka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Coastal ecosystem restoration; Contingent valuation; Intertidal flats; Norm activation model
• ISSN: 0921-8009; 1873-6106
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106423

Tokyo Bay's ecosystem has severely deteriorated due to land reclamation projects, which gradually claimed over 95% of the intertidal flats in the bay, beginning in the early 20th century. We conducted a contingent valuation study to examine the habitat protection and recreational value of intertidal flats in Tokyo Bay, Japan. To understand the motivations behind valuation responses, we examined respondents' latent ecosystem preferences and norms specific to Tokyo Bay's ecosystem by using factor analysis and cluster analysis. Our approach enables us to quantify the differences in motivations for ecosystem service restoration and relate them to the valuation of the ecosystem restoration project. We found that differences in norms, described by an awareness of the problem, an awareness of personal responsibility and an awareness of personal cost, resulted in significantly different valuations of the ecosystem. The scenario that ensured the protection of the natural habitat was preferred to the scenario that allowed for recreational use. •Norms, expressed as awareness of problems, responsibilities, and personal costs, affect willingness to pay for ecosystem restoration.•In the case of the Tokyo Bay coastal ecosystem, the scenario that ensured the protection of natural habitats yielded a higher willingness to pay compared to the scenario that allowed recreational use.•Two ecosystem service preference bundles were identified by using factor analysis. One bundle consisted of services that require people to directly interact with the Tokyo Bay’s coastal ecosystem, while the other consisted of services that are more general and only require indirect interaction with the Tokyo Bay coastal ecosystem.