Exploring the potential of local market in remunerating water ecosystem services in Cambodia: An application for endogenous attribute non-attendance modelling

Within South East Asia, certification and local market development may play an important role in incentivizing farmers to continue with nature-based solutions delivered by organic or traditional farming practices and avoid using environmentally detrimental production techniques. The purpose of this study is to use economic valuation in order to achieve an empirical understanding of local consumer preferences for different attributes of rice products. Application of the agrarian system approach reveals that rice cultivation systems observed in the Tonle Sape Lake of the Mekong River Basin in Cambodia (our study case) may target three ecosystem services that present the characteristics of public goods and may benefit consumer support. A choice experiment survey was administered among local consumers in the city of Phnom Penh in 2013. Econometric analysis indicates high rate of non-attendance for the price attribute. It also suggests that 17% of the respondents made their choices neglecting attributes describing ecosystem services. However, there are evidence of consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for certified organic rice higher than the price-premium observed on the local market. Furthermore, there is additional WTP value for the preservation of ecosystem services. We discuss the implications of our findings on potential payment for ecosystem services in the specific case of rice.