Previous studies of public preferences for controlling invasive species have found that people value and are willing to pay for the control of invasive plants and animals. Our researchers, led by Dr Maksym Polyakov, investigated whether this finding applied to wilding pines in native ecosystems, and if so, how strongly.
Using a method based on aspects of consumer theory, the researchers undertook an online survey of people across New Zealand. The survey included a choice experiment to elicit preferences and estimate values that people place on controlling wilding conifers over the next 20 years in the 10 New Zealand regions that are most affected by wilding pines. Choices were “spread” (no change in management), “contain” (manage wilding pines where they currently exist) and “reduce” (reducing wilding spread to approximately half their current extent), with various costs per household.
With 1,180 valid survey responses, the researchers were able to conclude with some confidence that the New Zealand public is willing to pay to control wilding conifers in native ecosystems. They found that the bigger the area needing control, the less per unit area people were ultimately prepared to pay. A distance decay effect was also noted: as would be expected, people are more willing to pay for control of wilding conifers near the place they live, especially if they are familiar with the wilding problem, than for similar control further away. However, interestingly, public willingness to pay does not diminish very much over long distances (with around a 30% decline in willingness per 1000 km), supporting the researchers’ conclusion that the New Zealand public generally values wilding conifer control.
These methods and results about public attitudes and preferences may interest policymakers who face competing priorities in controlling invasive species. Estimates of willingness to pay will be useful in planning and targeting wilding pine control in the future, improving the allocation of limited management resources to the most efficient management strategies.
