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Public willingness to pay for wetland restoration in the Canadian Prairie Pothole Region

Laura D. Boldt et al.

Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics / Revue Canadienne d Agroeconomie2025https://doi.org/10.1111/cjag.70010article
AJG 2ABDC A
Weight
0.37

Abstract

Wetlands play a crucial role in the agricultural landscapes of Canada's Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) but are being lost to agricultural and urban development. There is increased interest from governments and conservation organizations in restoring previously drained wetlands, but these projects are costly and associated with intangible ecosystem service benefits. We conduct a stated preference survey of 1,999 people in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to elicit preferences for provincial wetland restoration programs using an incentive compatible valuation question. We estimate welfare measures from these choices and find that people are willing to pay on average $368 per year to restore 10% of lost wetlands in their home province when they feel their choice is consequential. Willingness to pay (WTP) estimates are consistently highest in Manitoba and exhibit heterogeneity with respect to respondent characteristics in all provinces. Our results show that the aggregated per hectare social benefits of wetland restoration can exceed the per hectare costs of restoration, but the per hectare social benefits diminish as restored wetland area increases.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/cjag.70010

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@article{laura2025,
  title        = {{Public willingness to pay for wetland restoration in the Canadian Prairie Pothole Region}},
  author       = {Laura D. Boldt et al.},
  journal      = {Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics / Revue Canadienne d Agroeconomie},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/cjag.70010},
}

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Public willingness to pay for wetland restoration in the Canadian Prairie Pothole Region

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Evidence weight

0.37

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.16 × 0.4 = 0.06
M · momentum0.53 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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