At a Conservation Crossroad: The Bahoruco-Jaragua-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve in the Dominican Republic

This paper assesses the Dominican Republic’s willingness to pay (WTP) for a conservation, restoration, and sustainable development program for the Bahoruco-Jaragua-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve (RBJBE). Created in 2002, the RBJBE covers approximately 4858 km2, of which approximately 900 km2 correspond to the sea surface. With three core conservation zones, the RBJBE constitutes a complex space with a history of conflicts rooted in exploiting natural resources and social and economic issues. At the same time, it is a biodiversity hotspot of global importance. We present a Contingent Valuation Method to estimate the WTP for a conservation and restoration program called PROBIOSFERA. The non-parametric and parametric estimates of the WTP are DOP 165.00 (≈USD 2.94) and DOP 181.88 (≈USD 3.25), respectively. The socioeconomic variables that positively affect the WTP are income level, educational level, and age. The ecosystem services that are statistically related to WTP are the provisioning and supporting services. Regardless of the monetary valuation scenarios defined, the estimated annual monetized aggregated welfare associated with the RBJBE for Dominican society is DOP 7.2 billion (≈USD 128.1 million).

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Editor's Notes

Ethnic Studies Review ◽

10.1525/esr.2008.31.1.7 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 7-7

Keyword(s):

Social History ◽

Ethnic Studies ◽

Economic Issues ◽

The Social ◽

History Of

In this opening issue of volume 31 we are presented with both nuanced and bold entry into several long enduring issues and topics stitching together the interdisciplinary fabric comprising ethnic studies. The authors of these articles bring to our attention social, cultural and economic issues shaping lively discourse in ethnic studies. They also bring to our attention interpretations of the meaning and significance of ethnic cultural contributions to the social history of this nation - past and present.

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Economic Value of Pavement for the Elderly: Case Study of Bangkok, Thailand

Journal of Business and Economics ◽

10.15341/jbe(2155-7950)/11.09.2018/002 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 927-937

Author(s):

Somskaow Bejranonda ◽

◽

Aekkapat Laksanacom ◽

Waranan Tantiwat ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Contingent Valuation Method ◽

Economic Value ◽

The Elderly ◽

Pavement Management ◽

Sustainable Urban Development ◽

Public Facility ◽

Average Value ◽

Valuation Method ◽

The People ◽

The City

Based on the concept of a livable and global age-friendly city, pavements are a public facility that the city should provide to the people. Appropriate pavements will be beneficial for the people, particularly for good quality of life for the elderly to move around in the city. This study explored the behaviour of the elderly in the use of pavements and the problems confronted. The study also evaluated the value of the pavement walking area as it reflected the benefits of pavements to the elderly by applying the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). During March-May 2017, data were collected using interviews with 601 elderly living in Bangkok. The study indicated that the main problem for senior citizens regarding their use of pavements was from being disturbed by motorbikes riding on the pavements. The average value of pavement for the elderly was about THB 160 (USD 5.30) per person per year. Thus, the benefits of pavements to the elderly in Bangkok was approximately THB 158 million (USD 5.2 million) per year. Thus, policy makers should make proper budget allocations for elderly-friendly pavement management and seriously address the problems confronting the elderly in using pavements, to maximize the usefulness of pavements not only for the elderly but also for the public and to support a sustainable urban development.

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