TITLE:
Drovers’ Roads as Environmental Assets: Use Value for Recreational Purposes of the Cañada Real del Reino de Valencia
AUTHORS:
Inmaculada Guaita-Pradas, Baldomero Segura García del Río
KEYWORDS:
Drovers’ Roads, Contingent Valuation Method, Willingness to Pay, Spike Model
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.5 No.16,
November
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: Drovers’ roads have been a key part of transhumant pastoralism for
decades, being the routes on which to drive livestock, and it is for this reason
that they are protected by Spanish law, specifically Law 3/1995, by which they
were declared public goods. At the same time, their particular nature also
means that they also possess characteristics which are typical of other types
of public goods; therefore, in order to estimate their value, market-based
techniques cannot be used. This study centres on a project for the restoration
for recreational purposes of the Ca?ada
Real del Reino de Valencia, a drovers’ road in the Valencia region of
Spain. In order to establish its economic value, the contingent valuation
method has been used: this is the most commonly used technique for the
valuation of non-market goods and it is widely attested in the economic
literature, being used in a large number of different settings. Assuming a
useful life of 25 years and a social discount rate of 5%, the value of the Ca?ada Real del Reino de Valencia has
been estimated at €441.82 million, indicating the value which society places on
the drovers’ road. This estimation may assist in improving the efficiency of
public spending policies.