Conference Agenda

Global biodiversity trends show complex patterns of decline across species abundance, richness, and diversity. These declines vary both geographically and among taxonomy groups, having profound implications for human well-being. Valuing these changes economically is challenging due to the complexity and abstract nature of biodiversity. Thus, stated preference valuation studies have often relied on simplified biodiversity proxies, focusing on specific species or habitats rather than capturing biodiversity's full complexity. As a result, the marginal economic value of changes in biodiversity is often misrepresented. To better understand how distinct biodiversity metrics influence people’ willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation measures, our study conducts a global meta-analysis of 61 biodiversity valuation studies with 201 observations. We estimate variations in WTP across species categories, different biodiversity metrics, and geographical regions in studies conducted from 2000 to 2024. Our findings reveal that WTP for species richness was highest and most stable, while WTP for species abundance showed greater variability and was overall lower. Among species groups, WTP was highest for Specialist species, compared to iconic, generalist and endemic species. Spatially, wealthier continents had higher WTP. A temporal analysis indicated increasing WTP variability over time in developed regions, suggesting growing environmental awareness in these regions. Framing biodiversity questions as “avoiding the declines in species” yielded higher WTP while contingent valuation studies generally yielded lower WTP than discrete choice experiments across all demographics. This analysis offers valuable insights for better integration of biodiversity in cost-benefit analyses and natural capital accounting.