Mapping preferences for the restoration of environmental damage caused by illegal dumping

In this paper we use a discrete choice experiment to elicit the economic benefits associated with restoring environmental damage caused by illegal dumping activities. Our study focuses on an extensive rural upland area close to Belfast, where illegal dumping activities are prevalent. Using a random parameters logit model to account for unobserved taste heterogeneity, we exploit the panel nature of the dataset to retrieve partworths, or willingness to pay (WTP) values, for every individual in the sample. We subsequently investigate the existence of spatial dependence of these estimates. As a means of benefit transfer, we also employ geostatistical methods to extend across the whole of the study area the WTP estimates derived from the collected data. The resulting data are mapped and used to illustrate the implied spatial variation and local disparities in WTP for the different approaches used to restore the environmental damage caused by illegal dumping. The geographical mapping of the results is shown to add considerably more explanatory power to the welfare estimates derived from the discrete choice experiment.