Open AccessCoral reef quality and recreation fees in marine protected areas
Author(s) -
Wielgus Jeffrey,
Balmford Andrew,
Lewis Tiffany B.,
Mora Camilo,
Gerber Leah R.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
conservation letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.153
H-Index - 79
ISSN - 1755-263X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-263x.2009.00084.x
Subject(s) - marine protected area , recreation , business , coral reef , scuba diving , fishery , willingness to pay , great barrier reef , quality (philosophy) , environmental resource management , marine biodiversity , reef , biodiversity , environmental science , ecology , oceanography , economics , habitat , biology , philosophy , epistemology , microeconomics , geology
The recreational use of marine protected areas (MPAs) is a potential source of funding for MPAs in developing countries, for instance given the willingness of international divers to pay considerably higher diving fees than they currently pay. We conducted a global survey of MPAs containing coral reefs to investigate what factors are important in determining the size of fees charged to recreational SCUBA divers. The survey suggests that a negative perception about diving fees by managers is a more important predictor of fee size than the quality of diving, which can help explain the prevalently low size of diving fees. Decentralized fee systems and higher diving fees can help capture some of the surplus willingness to pay for diving in MPAs, but an excessive reliance on tourism for funding MPA management could expose coral reefs to damages.