Stabilization of Sand Dunes: Do Ecology and Public Perception Go Hand in Hand?

This chapter focuses on economic valuation of coastal dunes in Israel, based on public and professional ecological perspectives. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was applied in the Nizzanim Long-Term Ecosystem Research (LTER) nature reserve in Israel, and concurrently, data of plant species composition on stabilized and mobile dunes were used to calculate the ecological value index (EVI) of the different dune states. These two values were then compared and used to estimate the expected change in economic value resulting from a state shift from mobile to stabilized dunes.The outcome from these results suggests that neither method outweighed the other in this study. Rather, both value assessments should be presented to decision makers.