Willingness to Pay for the Carbon Sequestration Benefits of Forests: A Case Study of Selected Colleges in UPLB

Date

6-2022

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Economics

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Jaimie Kim B. Arias

Committee Member

Asa Jose U. Sajise, Jaimie Kim b. Arias, Ma. Angeles O. Catelo, Agham C. Cuevas

Abstract

This study estimated the willingness to pay (WTP) of students in selected colleges of the University of the Philippines Los Baños for the carbon sequestration benefits of the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve; a forest reserve administered by the UPLB. With the Philippines being rich in tropical forests, carbon sequestration shows great potential in addressing climate change mitigation in the country. Thus, this exploratory study was conducted to determine how much students are willing to pay, through a one-time voluntary donation, for the rehabilitation and conservation of the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve.

Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was employed as the valuation methodology of the study. Both non-parametric (Turnbull lower-bound estimator) and parametric (Hanneman’s Binary Logit model) approaches were used to compute for the WTP. Results showed that 62% of the respondents were willing to pay and that the mean WTP is Php 2,698.83. It was observed that the estimated mean WTP is higher when adjustment was made to address the protest “no” votes and invalid “yeah” answers. The study also showed that the bid prices (negative), and household income (positive) are statistically significant determinants of WTP.

Language

English

LC Subject

Mount Makiling Forest Reserve, Carbon Sequestration, Contingent Valuation Method, Willingness-to-pay, Logit Model, Turnbull Estimator

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2022 E2 C37

Document Type

Thesis

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