Eco-tax or Green Hours as Conservation Currency? Exploring New Zealanders' preferences for native forest biosecurity

New Zealand's native forests are facing a biosecurity crisis due to invasive species, with government measures receiving mixed public reactions, partly from a lack of understanding of the benefits of healthy ecosystems. This study, building on Yao and Wallace's (2023) systematic review, aims to quantify the environmental values associated with ecosystem services, crucial for biosecurity risk assessments and decision-making processes, to ensure public acceptability of biosecurity controls. The research has two objectives: determining the economic value of reducing biosecurity risks in native forests and examining public preferences for conservation policies, particularly comparing an eco-tax and volunteering time as payment methods. Expert input and a focus group refined the survey, administered online from August to October 2023, and yielding 588 responses. The results show a valuation hierarchy among ecosystem services, with highest priority on conserving native birds like kiwis, followed by preserving remote native vegetation and improving vegetation along recreational trails. A key finding is the public's preference for volunteering time over an eco-tax as a payment vehicle for conservation policies. This suggests that people are more willing to contribute personal effort than financial resources for environmental protection. This study provides vital insights into the values derived from protecting New Zealand's native forests and underscores crucial environmental values for extended cost-benefit analyses in biosecurity protection. It also contributes to the literature by highlighting the statistical differences in public preferences for funding conservation efforts. These findings have important implications for policy-making, emphasising the need for community engagement and participation in conservation initiatives.