Moran, Dominic

This report presents the results of an economic study of the willingness to pay (WTP) of recreational visitors to the Djoudj National Bird Park in northern Senegal, based on interviews with 647 visitors to the park conducted in early 2003. The study forms part of a broader economic analysis of the costs and benefits of the park.

The authors show how cost-benefit techniques can be applied to biodiversity and how they provide a measure of the efficiency of conservation techniques. Only if biodiversity conservation passes a basic economic test such as cost-benefit analysis is it likely to be incorporated into policy.