Farmers' demand for recycled water in Cyprus: A contingent valuation approach

Abstract

The aims of this paper are twofold. First, to investigate farmers' opinion of adoption of a new program, which involves utilization of recycled water to replenish an aquifer. Second, to evaluate the economic viability of this new program. A contingent valuation study is undertaken with 97 farmers located near the Akrotiri aquifer in Cyprus, a common-pool water resource with rapidly deteriorating water quality and quantity. The results reveal that farmers are willing to adopt the new technology, and they derive higher values from a recycled wastewater use program, which provides high quality water, and high water quantity in the aquifer. © 2007 Springer.