Valuing biodiversity benefits of pest and disease management: Three case studies

Abstract

Designing economically efficient pest and disease management programmes requires a consideration of the benefits and costs of management implementation. While measurement of costs is relatively straightforward to obtain through observed market transactions, a lack of corresponding market transaction data makes valuing environmental outcomes in economic terms more difficult. In these situations, economists can utilise a suite of non-market valuation(NMV) method to generate values that can be consistently compared to costs. This presentation will describe the application of NMV to inform the extent of benefits in three case studies, with the objective of illustrating their flexibility in application to varying contexts demonstrating their usefulness to supporting management decisions. The first example concerns management of bovine tuberculous in New Zealand(NZ). Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of cattle (and deer) that can also affect humans and was once a major threat to NZ’s dairy, beef and deer industries. However, intensive management of TB by testing and culling of farmed cattle and deer, and intensive control of Australian brushtail possums, the main wildlife host of the disease, have resulted in a >95% reduction in TB levels in livestock since 1994. Here we present an application of a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) used to quantify biodiversity benefits of the control programme to NZ residents. The second example concerns Myrtle Rust incursion in NZ. Myrtle rust is a serious fungal disease that affects plants in the myrtle family. NZ is home to 350 susceptible tree and plant species including iconic species, like the native pōhutukawa, mānuka and rata, and popular introduced plants including feijoa, bottle brush and blue gum. Severe infestations can kill affected plants and have long-term impacts on flowering and reproduction, and the regeneration of young plants and seedlings. Here we present an application of a DCE used to identify and measure NZ residents preferences for outcomes of myrtle rust control management. The third example concerns the biocontrol of European wasp in Australia. Established pests such as the European wasp (Vespula germanica) are often overlooked as candidates for management programmes because the use of traditional surveillance and control techniques over very large areas becomes uneconomic. Use of biological control agents that persist in the environment is usually the only economically feasible option. Here we present the application of Benefit Transfer method valuing environmental benefits as part of a decision analysis model evaluating the potential for biocontrol management options.