Valuing the Wild: From Stated Preference Methods to Compensating Income Variation

Demand for endangered wildlife products is driving the illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade, which threatens global biodiversity and has significant impacts on public health through the transmission of zoonotic diseases across the world.

The illegal wildlife trade is imperilling one quarter of the total terrestrial vertebrate species, pushing many species to the brink of extinction.

The rising frequency of zoonotic epidemics and pandemics, with COVID-19 as the most recent example, has highlighted the devastating public health consequences that can result from wildlife consumption.

In many Asian cultures, people use endangered wildlife products as traditional medicine to treat various diseases and health conditions, despite the availability of alternative treatments and modern medicines.

Understanding peoples preferences, particularly their willingness to pay (WTP) for healthcare, is critical to inform public health policies and wildlife trade governance.

Yet, few studies have been conducted on this important topic due to challenges in approaching consumers and limitations in existing non-market valuation methods, particularly preference-based methods.

The two specific aims of WILDVALUE are: (1) to assess peoples preferences for healthcare and endangered wildlife products using the Compensating Income Variation (CIV) method and (2) to advance the field of non-market valuation by comparing the CIV method to stated preference methods for the first time.

WILDVALUE will improve wildlife trade governance, inform public health policies, and advance the field of non-market valuation through a unique research on the consumption of endangered wildlife products for health-related purposes.