Author(s)

Inmaculada Guaita-Pradas^*, Baldomero Segura García del Río

Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain.

Drovers’ roads have been a key part of transhumant pastoralism for decades, being the routes on which to drive livestock, and it is for this reason that they are protected by Spanish law, specifically Law 3/1995, by which they were declared public goods. At the same time, their particular nature also means that they also possess characteristics which are typical of other types of public goods; therefore, in order to estimate their value, market-based techniques cannot be used. This study centres on a project for the restoration for recreational purposes of the Ca?ada Real del Reino de Valencia, a drovers’ road in the Valencia region of Spain. In order to establish its economic value, the contingent valuation method has been used: this is the most commonly used technique for the valuation of non-market goods and it is widely attested in the economic literature, being used in a large number of different settings. Assuming a useful life of 25 years and a social discount rate of 5%, the value of the Ca?ada Real del Reino de Valencia has been estimated at €441.82 million, indicating the value which society places on the drovers’ road. This estimation may assist in improving the efficiency of public spending policies.

Drovers’ Roads, Contingent Valuation Method, Willingness to Pay, Spike Model

Guaita-Pradas, I. and Río, B. (2014) Drovers’ Roads as Environmental Assets: Use Value for Recreational Purposes of the Cañada Real del Reino de Valencia. Journal of Environmental Protection, 5, 1495-1508. doi: 10.4236/jep.2014.516142.