Public perceptions of blue carbon in South Korea: Findings from a choice experiment

Blue carbon has been recently recognized worldwide as one of the various carbon reduction measures. There are three types of blue carbon in the South Korean Ocean: salt marsh, seagrass meadow, and tidal flat. This article strives to assess the economic value of blue carbon judged by the public by the use of a choice experiment (CE). Chosen attributes for the CE application were the area of salt marsh, the area of seagrass meadow, and the number of tidal flats. A CE survey of 1000 households was successfully implemented throughout the country. All the estimates for the three attributes and price held statistical significance. The yearly household economic values arising from one unit (1 km²) increase in each attribute were computed to be KRW 202 (USD 0.18), KRW 238 (USD 0.21), and KRW 331 (USD 0.30), respectively. This quantitative information can be used in calculating the economic benefits of a blue carbon restoration project and performing cost-benefits analysis on the project. The results demonstrate that for all three types of blue carbon, the economic benefit of restoring 1 km² of each blue carbon type was at least five times greater than the cost of restoring it. In other words, the restoration of blue carbon is socially profitable.