• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.645-654
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• 2015

This paper attempts to quantitatively assess the conservation value of Ellobium chinense (EC), which belongs to the endangered marine species designated by Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. To this end, we apply the contingent valuation (CV) method, an economic technique of valuing a non-market goods such as EC. A national survey of randomly selected 1,000 households was administered in order to derive the public's willingness to pay (WTP) for conserving EC. One-and-one-half-bound model was adopted to elicit the WTP responses and a spike model was employed to deal with the zero WTP responses. The results show that the conservation value of EC is estimated to be 2,346 won per household per year that is statistically significant at the 1% level. Expanding the value to the national population gives us an annual value of 43.8 billion won. We can judge that the Korean people are willing to pay a significant amount to conserve EC.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.225-233
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• 2023

Urban rivers and their surrounding environments have been altered due to factors such as rapid economic growth and urban development. This alteration have caused the rivers to lose their original value and become exposed to various pollution, resulting decrease in citizens' quality of life. This study aims to estimate citizens' Willingness To Pay (WTP) for water quality improvement in Suyeong River in Busan. To estimate the non-market value of the Suyeong River, the WTP of Busan citizens for water quality improvement was estimated, applying Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). The WTP for improving the water quality from Grade 4(polluted water) to Grade 2(game fish like bass can live in it) was estimated using the water quality ladder concept of the US Environmental Protection Agency, assuming annual donations for five years. For the CVM, the logistic distribution and Spike Model were adopted. As a result, citizens residing in the surrounding area of Suyeong River expressed a higher WTP. Considering more than half of the Busan citizens are aware of the "conservation of nature and ecosystems" as a major function of the Suyeong River, this higher WTP could serve as a basis for improving the value of urban rivers.