Economics

Non-use benefits are beneficial utilities that one may obtain from environmental resources without having to physically interact with the natural source. For instance, there are a lot of people who are afraid of poisonous snakes like vipers however, there are those who are still willing to spend their own money for the protection of the snakes and their habitat.

Some people are encouraged to do such because of the so-called Option Value Benefits. These are assumed benefits valued for future endeavors, so to speak benefits which may be obtained for future purposes once a given natural resource is preserved. Vipers, for instance, are in fact dangerous and risky to human existence but considering that snakes venom may hold medicinal value, some people choose to hold the option in favor of the animals protection, despite the possible risks it may cause them.

In order to calculate as to which of the two consequences holds more value (medicinal value one acquires versus the possible risks one obtains), the use of measurement benefit concepts should be taken into consideration. These are measured based on ones willingness to pay (WPT) and willingness to accept (WPA). The former suggests that there is a possibility that an individual might use a considerable amount of money in exchange for an environmental good which is a part of his or her demand curve, so to speak a part of his or her personal need. Although, an individual also has to consider the amount of money he or she will be loosing in the future because of the preservation of a particular natural resource in this case, the snake and its habitat.

Thus, it is true indeed that the difference between WPT and WPA is smaller if there are a lot of available substitutes for that particular natural resource and bigger, if resources are limited. In this case, the more that the individual thinks of the benefit he or she can obtain for having the snake and its habitat preserved than the risks he or she might get for tolerating it, is only a manifestation that it is in fact hard to find a substitute for the snakes venom as a medicinal ingredient.