Using choice experiments to inform management of black-faced spoonbill reserve in Taiwan

Figures & data

Table 1. Attributes and levels of the choice experiment

Attributes	Levels
1.The number of Black-Faced Spoonbill individuals seen	1. 50 individuals 2. 100 individuals 3. 200 individuals 4. 400 individuals
2. Degree of crowdedness	1. 90% 2. 50% 3. 10%
3. Waiting time	1. 90min 2. 70min 3. 50min 4. 30min
4. Admission Fee	1. 100NTD 2. 75NTD 3. 50NTD 4. 25NTD
5. The number of other bird species seen	1. 0 2. 3 3. 7 4.12
6.Necessary facilities	1. Low level 2. Medium level 3. High level
7. Non-necessary facilities	1. Low level 2. Medium level 3. High level
8. Interpretation quality	1. Low quality 2. Medium quality 3. High quality

Table 2. Example of a choice set from the questionnaire

Attributes	Alternative 1	Alternative 2	Alternative 3	Alternative 4	Alternative 5
The number of Black-Faced Spoonbill individuals seen	400 individuals	200 individuals	200 individuals	50 individuals	None of these
Degree of crowdedness	10%	90%	10%	90%
The number of other bird species seen	3	12	3	12
Necessary facilities
Non-necessary facilities
Interpretation quality	Medium	High	Medium	Medium
Waiting time	50min	50min	70min	30min
Admission Fee	25NTD	50NTD	100NTD	75NTD
Please, pick your choice	□	□	□	□	□

Table 3. Demographic profile of respondents in percentages of respondents

Characteristics	Sample (N = 434)
Gender
Male	48.4
Female	51.6
Age
17 or younger	3.5
18–65	95.1
66 or higher	1.4
Education
High school or less	24.5
University	58.4
Graduate school	17.1
Yearly personal income before taxes
Under NT 500,000	60.2
NT 500,000–100,000	29.2
Above 100,000	10.6
Number of prior visits
0	47.5
1–4	36.6
5 or higher	15.9

Table 4. Estimated logit parameters

Variable	Parameter estimate	Standard error	Pr>
The number of Black-Faced Spoonbill individuals seen	.003***	.000	.000
Degree of crowdedness	−.007***	.001	.000
The number of other bird species seen	.064***	.010	.000
Waiting time	.000	.002	.840
Admission Fee	−.010***	.001	.000
Necessary facilities (Low level) ^1	−.098	.108	.366
Necessary facilities (Medium level) ^1	.306**	.120	.011
Non-necessary (Low level) ^2	−.284**	.103	.006
Non-necessary (Medium level) ^2	.106	.119	.371
Interpretation quality (Low level) ^3	−.265**	.107	.013
Interpretation quality (Medium level) ^3	.189	.119	.111
Model statistics
Number of observation (choice sets) = 4340
Log Likelihood statistic:- 142.700 (p < 0.0001)

¹The reference level is Necessary facilities (High level). ²The reference level is Non-necessary (High level). ³The reference level is Interpretation quality (High level).

Table 5. Willingness to pay for bird-watching and services (NTD*)

Variable	WTP
The number of Black-Faced Spoonbill individuals seen	0.3
Degree of crowdedness	−0.7
The number of other bird species seen	6.4
Waiting time	0
Necessary facilities (Low level)	−9.8
Necessary facilities (Medium level)	30.6
Non-necessary (Low level)	−28.4
Non-necessary (Medium level)	10.6
Interpretation quality (Low level)	−26.5
Interpretation quality (Medium level)	18.9

Note: *30.68 NTD is equal to 1 USD on 24th, August 2018.