Social preferences and economic valuation for water quality and river restoration: the <scp>S</scp>egura <scp>R</scp>iver, <scp>S</scp>pain

Abstract

Abstract The W ater F ramework D irective ( WFD ) aims at improving the ecological status of the water bodies in E urope. In this context, some rivers are currently being restored and, in accordance with this D irective, the restoration actions have to be evaluated from a socio‐economic approach. This work applies the C hoice M odelling method to the WFD provisions for river restoration. This method proves to be useful for the economic valuation of the restoration measures, as well as a very important tool for people's public participation. In this sense, the water quality improvement has been defined as a priority action from a social point of view. Moreover, the method used has provided answers to both basic questions included in the WFD : the calculation of the economic value of the S egura R iver's ecological flow, the decrease of which would pose an environmental cost, and the estimation of the environmental income generated by this river.