I've been working on a paper looking at the impact of climate change-induced sea level rise on shore fishing in North Carolina (the working paper will be out in a month or two, I think). The impacts are negative but this holds other climate change variables, temperature and precipitation, constant. I've been looking into these impacts so my co-authors and I don't look totally foolish.
In part 1 of a(n), at least, 3 part series, here is the literature review (part 2 will have some empirical results, part 3 will have some welfare impacts). I've found 3 US-based studies on climate change and outdoor recreation. Each of these finds positive impacts of climate change on the outdoor recreational sector of the US economy.
Past research on the impact of climate change on outdoor recreational activities in the United States is sparse. Early studies find that precipitation and temperature impacts beach recreation activities (McConnell, 1977, Silberman and Klock, 1988). More recently, Englin and Moeltner (2004) find that temperature and precipitation affects the number of skiing and snowboarding days in expected ways.
Two studies have related the effects of temperature and precipitation on outdoor recreation activities and used these results to model the impacts on WTP of climate change. This research finds that the impacts of climate change on outdoor recreation will be positive. Mendelsohn and Markowsi (1999) consider the effects of changes in temperature and rainfall on boating, camping, fishing, hunting, skiing and wildlife viewing using statewide aggregate demand functions. Considering a range of climate scenarios, the authors find that increased temperature and precipitation increases the aggregate WTP of hunting, freshwater fishing and boating and decreases the aggregate WTP of camping, skiing and wildlife viewing. The net impacts of climate change on aggregate WTP are positive.
Loomis and Crespi (1999) take an approach similar to Mendelsohn and Markowsi (1999) but use different sources and more disaggregate data. They consider the effects of temperature and precipitation on beach recreation, reservoir recreation, stream recreation, downhill and cross-country skiing, waterfowl hunting, bird viewing and forest recreation. Overall, they find that climate change will have positive impacts on the aggregate WTP of outdoor recreation activities. In particular, they consider the impacts of sea level rise on beach recreation and waterfowl hunting. For beach recreation they use the positive relationship between beach length and the number of beach days per month to assess the loss of beaches. The joint effects of increased temperature, increased precipitation and beach loss leads to a positive economic impact. For waterfowl hunting they use the relationship between wetland acres and waterfowl hunting participation and find a negative economic impact with sea level rise.
In contrast to the previous studies, Richardson and Loomis (2004) employ a stated preference approach to estimate the impacts of climate change on WTP for recreation at Rocky Mountain National Park. Stated preference surveys ask outdoor recreation participants for their willingness to pay for climate change or for their hypothetical changes in visitation behavior with changes in climate. Richardson and Loomis’ hypothetical scenario explicitly considers the direct effects of climate, temperature and precipitation, and the indirect effects of temperature and precipitation on other environmental factors such as vegetation composition and wildlife populations. Using visitor data, they find that climate would have positive impacts on visitation at the Rocky Mountain National Park.
References
Englin, Jeffrey, and Klaus Moeltner, “The Value of Snowfall to Skiers and Boarders,” Environmental and Resource Economics 29:123-136, 2004.
Loomis, John and John Crespi, “Estimated Effects of Climate Change on Selected Outdoor Recreation Activities in the United States,” Chapter 11 in The Impact of Climate Change on the United States Economy, Cambridge University Press, pp. 289-314, 1999.
McConnell, Kenneth E., “Congestion and Willingness to Pay: A Study of Beach Use,” Land Economics 53(2):185-195, 1977.
Mendelsohn, Robert and Marla Markowsi, “The Impact of Climate Change on Outdoor Recreation,” Chapter 10 in The Impact of Climate Change on the United States Economy, Cambridge University Press, pp. 267-288, 1999.
Richardson, Robert B., and John B. Loomis, “Adaptive Recreation Planning and Climate Change: A Contingent Visitation Approach,” Ecological Economics 50(83-99): 2004.
Silberman, J. and Klock, M., “The Recreation Benefits of Beach Nourishment,” Ocean and Shoreline Management 11:73-90, 1988.
