scholarly journals Economic Valuation of Conservation of Inholdings in Protected Areas for the Institution of Payments for Ecosystem Services

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi-Ok Oh ◽  
Sangkwon Lee ◽  
Hyun No Kim

Ecosystem services, as public goods, are often undersupplied because private markets do not fully take into account the social cost of production. To alleviate the concern about this imbalance situation, payments for ecosystem services (PES) have emerged as a preferable alternative. While temples in Korea have owned a considerable part of the national parks, a PES approach can be used as a viable option to alleviate the conflicts among visitors, non-visitors, and temples. The purpose of this paper is to assess the economic values of ecosystem services provided by temple forests as a compensation mechanism. Using a contingent valuation method, an online survey was conducted with 1000 respondents. Study results showed that the economic benefits of the conservation of temple forests were estimated to be substantial, ranging from ₩5980 (US $5.42) to ₩7709 ($7.08) per household per year. The results also confirmed the effects of social factors such as individuals’ trust in the government’s environmental policies and importance on the conservation of temples’ cultural and religious values on the willingness to pay. With a growing interest in securing ecosystem services through a PES approach, estimating economic benefits of the conservation of inholdings in public protected areas will be a valuable piece of information as an important policy decision-making tool.

One Ecosystem ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Marta-Pedroso ◽  
Lia Laporta ◽  
Ivo Gama ◽  
Tiago Domingos

Demonstrating economic benefits generated by protected areas is often pointed out as pivotal for supporting decision-making. We argue in this paper that the concept of ecosystem services (ES), defined as the benefits humans derive from ecosystems, provides a consistent framework to approach this issue as it links ecosystem functioning and benefits, including benefits with economic value. This study aimed at providing evidence on how to bring the economic value of protected areas to the decision-making process and contributing to extend current EU Member States' experience in mapping and assessing the economic value of ES in the context of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 (Action 5). In doing so, we used the Natural Park of Serra de S. Mamede (PNSSM), located in the Alentejo NUTS II region, as a case study. We followed a three-step approach to pursue our goals, entailing stakeholders' engagement for selecting relevant ES (through a participatory workshop), biophysical mapping of ES flows (based on a multi-tiered approach depending on data availability) and spatial economic estimation of such flows (using value transfer, willingness-to-pay and market price methods). Our results indicate that the ES with highest economic value are not always the ones with higher perceived value by stakeholders. For most ES, the economic value increased with increasing protection level within the park, except for the crop production service. Although no formal uncertainty or sensitivity analysis has been performed, the following range is based on a critical assessment of non-primary data used. We estimated the aggregate annual value of PNSSM to be 11 to 33M€/year (representing 0.1 to 0.3% of the regional NUTSII Alentejo Gross Domestic Product). Our findings reinforce the need to adopt mixes of monetary and non-monetary valuation processes and not to rely just on one approach or measure of value while bringing ES into protected areas management.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shah Md. Atiqul Haq

AbstractNational parks and protected areas can contribute significantly to the needs of poor people who live in and around them and depend heavily on forest resources for their subsistence. Especially for the rural poor who have limited economic options, use of national park resources are the main source for their survival, giving them direct benefits from food, medicine and forest products. National parks can contribute to maintaining the ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, along with the economic benefits to the local population. National parks and protected areas can play a significant role in climate change mitigation as well. Nevertheless, benefits from these areas are not well recognized in management especially in developing countries by incorporating them for climate change mitigation. Though usually more priority is given to conservation, improvement of livelihood and climate change mitigation can be achieved by integrating national parks into management and policy, and by consideration of the potential of human resources. Thus the integration can improve the poverty situation of local people and help them to adapt to climatic change mitigation strategies. Therefore, management of national parks and protected areas should ensure the participation of local communities and stakeholders.


Author(s):  
Milica Dobričić ◽  
◽  
Goran Sekulić ◽  

This chapter discusses the importance of evaluating ecosystem services by showcasing the Protected Areas Benefit Assessment Tool (PA-BAT), which has been applied in seven Dinaric Arc countries, and has gathered information on a range of values and benefits that protected areas provide. The PA-BAT results presented here include data for protected areas in Serbia (national parks Tara, Djerdap, Fruška gora and Kopaonik, Landscape of exceptional features of Vlasina and Special Nature Reserve of the Upper Danube) and economic assessment of 22 protected area values with special reference to tourism and recreation. This chapter gives a brief overview of other analyzes and initiatives for assessing the value of ecosystem services related to protected areas in Serbia. This chapter aims to contribute to a better understanding and promotion of the concept of ecosystem services in tourism and other sectors using PA-BAT and other methods of evaluation of protected area services.


Author(s):  
Leslie Richardson ◽  
Bruce Peacock

Economics plays an important role not only in the management of national parks in developed countries, but also in demonstrating the contribution of these areas to societal well-being. The beneficial effect of park tourism on jobs and economic activity in communities near these protected areas has at times been a factor in their establishment. These economic impacts continue to be highlighted as a way to demonstrate the benefit and return on investment of national parks to local economies. However, the economic values supported by national parks extend far beyond local economic benefits. Parks provide unique recreation opportunities, health benefits, preservation of wildlife and habitat, and a wide range of ecosystem services that the public assigns an economic value to. In addition, value is derived from the existence of national parks and their preservation for future generations. These nonmarket benefits can be difficult to quantify, but they are essential for understanding and communicating the economic importance of parks. Economic methods used to estimate these values have been refined and tested for nearly seven decades, and they have come a long way in helping to elucidate the extent of the nonmarket benefits of protected areas. In many developed countries, national parks have regulations and policies that outline a framework for the consideration of economic values in decision-making contexts. For instance, large oil spills in the United States, such as the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 and the Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010, highlighted the need to better understand public values for affected park resources, leading to the extensive use of nonmarket values in natural resource damage assessments. Of course, rules and enforcement issues vary widely across countries, and the potential for economics to inform the day-to-day operations of national parks is much broader than what is currently outlined in such policies. While economics is only one piece of the puzzle in managing national parks, it provides a valuable tool for evaluating resource tradeoffs and for incorporating public preferences into the decision-making process, leading to greater transparency and assurance that national parks are managed for the benefit of society. Understanding the full extent of the economic benefits supported by national parks helps to further the mission of these protected areas in developed countries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 7117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Ning ◽  
Jianjun Jin ◽  
Foyuan Kuang ◽  
Xinyu Wan ◽  
Chenyang Zhang ◽  
...  

Economic valuation of grassland ecosystem services is important for protecting and restoring grassland ecosystems. This study aims to investigate Chinese netizens’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for protecting grassland ecosystem services in Inner Mongolia by using the contingent valuation method. The results indicate that 61.55% of respondents expressed a positive WTP. The mean WTP was estimated to be CNY 170.76 (USD 25.11) per person per year. We found that there is a significant spatial difference in respondent’s WTP. Factors such as respondent age, education, household income and concern about grassland protection significantly affected their WTP. Younger, more educated and wealthier respondents have a higher probability of willingness to pay, and those who are concerned about grassland protection present a higher WTP. The regression results also show that distance from the grassland negatively affects the probability and values of people’s WTP. Findings of this research provide useful policy implications for decision-makers involved in grassland protection and management.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (45) ◽  
pp. E10788-E10796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Lindsey ◽  
Jennifer R. B. Miller ◽  
Lisanne S. Petracca ◽  
Lauren Coad ◽  
Amy J. Dickman ◽  
...  

Protected areas (PAs) play an important role in conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem services, yet their effectiveness is undermined by funding shortfalls. Using lions (Panthera leo) as a proxy for PA health, we assessed available funding relative to budget requirements for PAs in Africa’s savannahs. We compiled a dataset of 2015 funding for 282 state-owned PAs with lions. We applied three methods to estimate the minimum funding required for effective conservation of lions, and calculated deficits. We estimated minimum required funding as $978/km2per year based on the cost of effectively managing lions in nine reserves by the African Parks Network; $1,271/km2based on modeled costs of managing lions at ≥50% carrying capacity across diverse conditions in 115 PAs; and $2,030/km2based on Packer et al.’s [Packer et al. (2013)Ecol Lett16:635–641] cost of managing lions in 22 unfenced PAs. PAs with lions require a total of $1.2 to $2.4 billion annually, or ∼$1,000 to 2,000/km2, yet received only $381 million annually, or a median of $200/km2. Ninety-six percent of range countries had funding deficits in at least one PA, with 88 to 94% of PAs with lions funded insufficiently. In funding-deficit PAs, available funding satisfied just 10 to 20% of PA requirements on average, and deficits total $0.9 to $2.1 billion. African governments and the international community need to increase the funding available for management by three to six times if PAs are to effectively conserve lions and other species and provide vital ecological and economic benefits to neighboring communities.


One Ecosystem ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e25428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stoyan Nedkov ◽  
Bilyana Borisova ◽  
Boian Koulov ◽  
Miglena Zhiyanski ◽  
Svetla Bratanova-Doncheva ◽  
...  

The aim of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 isto maintain and enhance ecosystem services (ES) in Europe and requires all Member States to map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services in the respective national territories. The EU-funded project ESMERALDA analyses ES mapping and assessment methods and approaches in their biophysical, social and economical perspectives, as well as their application in different case studies. The project also aims at the development of an integrated and consistent assessment framework. In Bulgaria, methodological guides for evaluation and mapping of the services provided by the nine main types of ecosystems have been prepared together with the respective proposals for their implementation in the national assessment. The Bulgarian research team analyses and tests various aspects of ecosystem services mapping and assessment, such as alternative economic assessments, multi-criteria analyses and biophysical assessment approaches, mapping challenges and local population surveys. In this paper paper, we review the ES activities in Bulgaria and present selected mapping and assessment methods tested in the Central Balkan case study area. It provides relevant examples for the implementation of integrated mapping and assessment of ecosystem services at local and regional level, where different mapping approaches and techniques are embedded within diverse policy contexts. The main goal of the study is to investigate how the assessment results can support the integration of the ecological functions of the Central Balkan National Park with the economic opportunities that it creates for the local and regional communities. A tiered approach has been used to organise the mapping and assessment exercises in the study area, in order to meet the needs for integrated ecosystem assessment and overcome the limitations of data availability. At tier 1, the study performs identification and initial ES mapping of the whole area. At tier 2, it applies economic valuation for the Municipality of Karlovo by using statistical data and the contingent valuation method. At tier 3, the investigation applies modelling methods to assess carbon storage and flood regulation on a larger scale. The results are presented in the form of maps at all levels, which use a uniform 0 to 5 assessment scale. The integrated approach presented here ensures a clear communication of the end results to the respective decision-makers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Justus E. Eregae ◽  
Paul Njogu ◽  
Rebecca Karanja ◽  
Moses Gichua

Valuation of ecosystem services (ESs) can be typical as use values and passive use values. However, the prevailing conventional markets provide economic instruments such as price tags to ecosystem use values, but rarely on passive use values. This is limited since it does not provide comprehensive ecological values that will adequately support rational decision-making processes regarding ecological conservation. The study adopted the contingency valuation method (CVM) where three hundred and eighty households of communities living within the Elgeyo watershed were sampled. The findings recorded 97% of the population was willing to pay for the ESs quoted. Individual maximum WTP ranged between 1 USD and 57.1 USD (cultural), 1 USD and 95.2 USD (bequest), and 1 USD and 76.2 USD (biodiversity conservation). The overall mean maximum WTP was 7.4 ± 0.34 USD, 9.1 ± 0.49 USD, and 11.1 ± 0.68 USD for the cultural, bequest, and biodiversity, respectively. The multivariate regression (maximum WTP as a function of administrative location, education, income, sex, age, and livestock number) exhibited a significant difference regardless of multivariate criteria used, where Wilks’ lambda has F (75,203) = 4.03, p < 0.001 . The findings provide an economic value for nonuse values that can be incorporated in total economic valuation (TEV) studies locally as well as provide an impetus on payment of ecosystem services (PES) in Kenya.


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