TY - JOUR

T1 - Nature-based recreation in Germany

T2 - Insights into volume and economic significance

AU - Hermes, Johannes

AU - von Haaren, Christina

AU - Schmücker, Dirk

AU - Albert, Christian

N1 - Funding Information: This paper is based on the project “Valuing Cultural Ecosystem Services in Germany”, supported by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funding from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), Grant ID: 3513 83 0300 . C.A. acknowledges further support from the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung—BMBF) , Grant ID: 01UU1601A . The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy of the BfN or the BMUB. We thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for the constructive feedback on our manuscript.

PY - 2021/10

Y1 - 2021/10

N2 - Nature-based recreation presents a key ecosystem service that people derive from landscapes. While numerous studies exist on the valuation of nature-based recreation for specific sites or regions, scientific knowledge gaps remain regarding the economic significance of nature-based recreation at national levels. This study aims to quantify the volume and economic significance of nature-based recreation in Germany, with a focus on leisure activities and weekend recreation. Our objective are to assess (i) motivations, time allocation and travel costs, (ii) frequencies and participation numbers, and (iii) economic significances. The research design includes a representative survey and descriptive statistics. Our results show that 81% of respondents participated in nature-based recreation within year before the survey, while the rest stated no participation. The average frequency was 63 leisure activities, 29 day-trips and seven short overnight trips. ‘Experiencing nature’ was the most frequently mentioned trip motivation. The extrapolated total participation volume in nature-based recreation amounts to 3.3 billiontrips and 16.6 billion hours. The economic significance is€ 151.3 billion, including travel costs, on-site expenses, and opportunity costs. Our study presents novel insights on the significance of NBR in Germany, and can support planning and policy making to safeguard and enhance landscape quality for recreational purposes.

AB - Nature-based recreation presents a key ecosystem service that people derive from landscapes. While numerous studies exist on the valuation of nature-based recreation for specific sites or regions, scientific knowledge gaps remain regarding the economic significance of nature-based recreation at national levels. This study aims to quantify the volume and economic significance of nature-based recreation in Germany, with a focus on leisure activities and weekend recreation. Our objective are to assess (i) motivations, time allocation and travel costs, (ii) frequencies and participation numbers, and (iii) economic significances. The research design includes a representative survey and descriptive statistics. Our results show that 81% of respondents participated in nature-based recreation within year before the survey, while the rest stated no participation. The average frequency was 63 leisure activities, 29 day-trips and seven short overnight trips. ‘Experiencing nature’ was the most frequently mentioned trip motivation. The extrapolated total participation volume in nature-based recreation amounts to 3.3 billiontrips and 16.6 billion hours. The economic significance is€ 151.3 billion, including travel costs, on-site expenses, and opportunity costs. Our study presents novel insights on the significance of NBR in Germany, and can support planning and policy making to safeguard and enhance landscape quality for recreational purposes.

KW - Cultural ecosystem services

KW - Monetary value

KW - National level

KW - Quantification

KW - User survey

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85108891303&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107136

DO - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107136

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85108891303

VL - 188

JO - Ecological Economics

JF - Ecological Economics

SN - 0921-8009

M1 - 107136

ER -