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Managing game species suffering population declines demands effective harvest regulation to allow for species recovery. Striking a balance is crucial to ensure that regulations are not perceived as unfair impositions, potentially leading to non-compliance issues. The European turtle-dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a unique example of such conservation conflict, marked by a temporary moratorium of its hunting in the western European countries in 2021, maintained in subsequent years. Exploring the views of turtle-dove hunters is critical for predicting the acceptability of regulatory measures. Here we explored the preferences and perceptions of Spanish hunters regarding policy changes in European turtle-dove hunting. Specifically, we first investigated hunters' views on the current moratorium and then, using a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE), we assessed their preferences for future management scenarios regarding species recovery and its hunting. The findings revealed heterogeneous perceptions among hunters surveyed about the species' population trends and the procedures to be followed if hunting was reopened in the future (in particular, about who should hunt if small quotas would not allow hunting to occur in all hunting estates), but an overall rejection of the moratorium. The DCE showed that their most favored management option was hunting return in the medium term, and conservation efforts to be carried out across all European and African countries in the migration route. We conclude that transnational cooperative strategies that balance species recovery and science-based hunting regulations are required to achieve a transition to more effective and accepted conservation efforts. • The moratorium on European turtle-dove hunting was widely rejected among hunters. • Surveyed hunters advocate for the sustained practice of hunting over time. • There was large discrepancy among hunters about how to manage small national quotas. • Subsidized payments by public administration did not influence management preferences. • Lack of international coordination can hinder effective migratory species conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Prestige oil spill had numerous negative effects on marine ecosystems, but it also caused a positive effect, as it contributed to the generation of new scientific information that guided to the large marine protected area "Bank of Galicia" lies becoming part of the European Natura 2000 Network. This protected area represents the 10 % of the total marine area of Galicia (NW Spain). Nevertheless, the Convention on Biological Diversity establishes the objective of increasing the total protected area up to 30 %. A discrete choice experiment was conducted to elicit the social preferences for a conservation program of marine biodiversity in Galicia. Among other characteristics such as the expansion of the protected area to the surroundings of Natura 2000 sites, the establishment of new restrictions in the marine protected areas, or the implementation of payments to affected fishermen, the experiment allows to estimate the change in social welfare associated with the surface of large marine protected areas in the NW Spain. Results show that reaching the objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity would imply an increase in well-being, in monetary terms, of 16.4 million of euros. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since ancient times, Mediterranean pine forests have been habitat for human activity, providing a wide range of goods such as timber, seeds, resin and derived products. Among them, tar and resin have played an historical role on the interaction between human activity and forests. In Spain, the resin played an important role in the economic and social development in rural areas during 20th century. But after 1980, resin production plummeted and the virtual disappearance of resin tapping caused the abandonment of traditional forest activities and the subsequently losses of ecosystem forest services (provision, regulation and cultural). This paper deals with some of the ecosystem services provided by resin tapped pine forests and shows how the abandonment of this traditional forestry activity would lead to a loss of social welfare beyond the economic activity. Among these ecosystem services, special attention is paid to the biodiversity of the pine forests. For that purpose, a stratified vegetation sampling was conducted in the leading resin-tapping Spanish region. Ecological analysis was therefore compared with the social preferences for several attributes associated to resin-tapped pine forests in Spain, including the biodiversity of flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Driven hunts exemplify the most representative form of big-game hunting in southern Europe. Aims. We analysed hunter preferences for driven hunts and the marginal willingness to pay for their characteristics. Methods. We conducted a discrete-choice experiment for driven hunts, taking into account the number of deer that could be hunted, the possibility of free-range wild-boar hunting, the presence of trophies, and other characteristics of driven hunts, such as congestion and travel time. Key results. The highest influential driven-hunt characteristic on the utility of big-game hunters is the presence of trophy specimens, whereas for the small-game hunter it would be free-range wild-boar hunting. Conclusions. Small-game hunters are reluctant to participate in the big-game market because of cultural factors and not because of budgetary restrictions. Implications. Wildlife management and marketing of driven hunts can be improved taking into account the hunter preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We examined the preferences for transformations of a mountain landscape. [•] We valued externalities associated with ski and health spa resorts. [•] Past choices of living conditions and actual choices are related. [•] We found similarities between mountain and urban inhabitants attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article deals with the issues of welfare measurement and preference heterogeneity for Rural Development Programs (RDPs) in Cantabria, Spain. People from urban and rural localities would benefit from improvements in the provision of public goods and externalities promoted by RDPs, but their preferences may be quite different. Heterogeneous preferences between urban and rural dwellers would hinder the proper estimation and aggregation of social welfare. Results show significant differences between rural and urban residents. However, the social legitimacy of RDPs, in terms of positive welfare changes, would prevail in both rural and urban settings. The article concludes that accurately measuring social welfare values and explaining preference patterns is a key issue for developing effective multifunctional policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Small forest patches embedded in agricultural (and peri-urban) landscapes in Western Europe play a key role for biodiversity conservation with a recognized capacity of delivering a wide suite of ecosystem services. Measures aimed to preserve these patches should be both socially desirable and ecologically effective. This study presents a joint ecologic and economic assessment conducted on small forest patches in Flanders (Belgium) and Picardie (N France). In each study region, two contrasted types of agricultural landscapes were selected. Open field (OF) and Bocage (B) landscapes are distinguished by the intensity of their usage and higher connectivity in the B landscapes. The social demand for enhancing biodiversity and forest structure diversity as well as for increasing the forest area at the expenses of agricultural land is estimated through an economic valuation survey. These results are compared with the outcomes of an ecological survey where the influence of structural features of the forest patches on the associated herbaceous diversity is assessed. The ecological and economic surveys show contrasting results; increasing tree species richness is ecologically more important for herbaceous diversity in the patch, but both tree species richness and herbaceous diversity obtain insignificant willingness to pay estimates. Furthermore, although respondents prefer the proposed changes to take place in the region where they live, we find out that social preferences and ecological effectiveness do differ between landscapes that represent different intensities of land use. Dwellers where the landscape is perceived as more “degraded” attach more value to diversity enhancement, suggesting a prioritization of initiatives in these area. In contrast, the ecological analyses show that prioritizing the protection and enhancement of the relatively better-off areas is more ecologically effective. Our study calls for a balance between ecological effectiveness and welfare benefits, suggesting that cost effectiveness studies should consider these approaches jointly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 sets out a framework of commitments and actions to tackle the main drivers of biodiversity loss. Such framework needs to be built on a whole-of-society approach to biodiversity protection, mobilizing private and public funding. In this context, our goal was estimating societal support and preferences about some basic wildlife management principles, which may be useful to inform EU decision-makers about societal priorities and other additional funding sources for wildlife conservation. A discrete choice experiment was conducted by 2415 inhabitants in six European countries (Spain, France, Italy, UK, Germany, Sweden), including residents in both rural (47% of respondents) and urban areas. Our findings reveal a clear pattern across western Europe with similar trends along the studied countries, and even between rural and urban citizens, on some basic wildlife management principles. According to our survey, payments for environmental services contribute to achieving a higher well-being from European citizens in any of the prospective wildlife programs considered, which suggests it is an acceptable tool to share out funds for biodiversity conservation. In addition, managing scarce species is preferred over managing too abundant species; management in forest, agricultural and aquatic habitats is prioritized over that in urban landscapes; and management in protected areas is preferred over management in non-protected ones. These findings suggest that there is a common culture in Europe related to the management of wildlife even when considering citizens with contrasted ways of life: rural vs urban citizens from northern to southwestern Europe. Overall, this study may help in the design of wildlife management policies that maximize societal acceptability and gather higher support. • There is a common European culture in relation to the biodiversity conservation • Europeans are willing to pay additionally for supporting wildlife conservation • Society agrees with payments for environmental services and environmental taxes • Scarce species in forest and agricultural-protected habitats are prioritized • Management of overabundant species and peri-urban habitats are penalized [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]