| Abstract: |
This paper looks at the optimal location of new forests in a suburban region
under area constraints. The GIS-based methodology takes into account use
benefits such as timber, hunting, carbon sequestration and recreation, non-use
benefits (both bequest and existence values), opportunity costs of converting
agricultural land, as well as planting and management costs of the new forest.
The recreation benefits of new forest sites are estimated using function
transfer techniques. We show that the net social benefit of the total
afforestation project may vary up to a factor 6, depending on the forest sites
that are selected. We show that the recreation value of a forest site varies
considerably with the available substitutes. |