Information and Preferences for Post-Fire Restoration Techniques in Protective Forests: A Choice Experiment Approach

Abstract

As climate change increases wildfire frequency and intensity, post-fire restoration has become a critical challenge, particularly in protective mountain forests. While ecological literature has addressed the effectiveness of restoration techniques, little is known about public preferences and their responsiveness to information. This study estimates the monetary value attributed to different post-fire management strategies in the Italian Alpine region, using a repeated choice experiment with 1,210 residents. Preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) were measured before and after providing science-based information. Results show an intuitive inclination toward visible, active interventions, especially reforestation and salvage logging, driven by symbolic meanings and common-sense notions of recovery. After receiving information, respondents significantly reduced their WTP for intensive practices, and socio-demographic differences narrowed. These findings highlight the transformative role of targeted information in aligning social preferences with ecologically sound forest management, underscoring the importance of clear, context-sensitive communication strategies in fostering informed and equitable public support for restoration policies.