Estimating the Recreational Benefits of Coral Restoration in Northwestern, Philippines

Abstract

In this study, the recreational value of restoring corals reefs was estimated in the context of a site in Northwestern Philippines. This study applied the travel cost method with a variation that integrates a contingent behavior question. This allowed for the estimation of marginal benefits in the context of a change in recreational asset quality. The recreational study site, including the reef in its damaged state, gave rise to average per visit benefits of around US$63.00. With a restored reef that average value increased to approximately US$113.00 per visit. Hence, the average marginal benefits associated with an investment in reef restoration for this case study site is in the order of US$50 per visit, with a 95% confidence interval of US$0.72 million to US$$3.34 M yr(1).