Willingness To Pay for the Conservation of Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve Among Selected Students of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, 2025

Date

6-2025

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Antonio Jesus A. Quilloy

Committee Member

Geny F. Lapiña, Maria Angeles O. Catelo

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For non-UP researchers, requests for access to this material may be directed to the CEM Library at cemlibrary.uplb@up.edu.ph or to the UKDR administrator at uscs-mainlib.uplb@up.edu.ph

Abstract

Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve is a vital resource known for its multifunctional purposes. It serves as a key biological hotspot, the nearest ecotourism site from Metro Manila, a watershed, and a “training laboratory” for teaching, research, and extension. However, despite its status as an ASEAN heritage park, it still receives a lack of funding from the government, which impedes its operations and maintenance. One of the ways to address this issue, the Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystem (MCME), collects access fees, such as entrance fees, as an additional source of income; however, it is still found to be insufficient.

The study was conducted to analyze the willingness to pay of selected UPLB students for the conservation of the MMFR. Specifically, it is intended to (1) evaluate the awareness and (2) knowledge of selected UPLB students about MMFR; (3) evaluate the perception of selected UPLB students towards the conservation of the MMFR; (4) determine the willingness to pay of selected UPLB students for the conservation of the MMFR; and, (5) determine the factors affecting the willingness to pay of selected UPLB students for the conservation of the MMFR.

Using a simple stratified proportionate random sampling, 62 student respondents were selected and interviewed for data collection. Contingent valuation method (CVM) was utilized to assess the student respondent’s willingness to pay. In the form of an environmental fee and with an anchor value of PhP 60 as the current entrance fee, the student respondents are willing to pay PhP 53.46 on average. On the other hand, using the chi-square test of independence, only sex and number of years of education are found marginally significant at 10 percent and are associated with WTP.

The student respondents are also presented with a pre-tested questionnaire that assesses their knowledge and awareness about MMFR. A five-point Likert scale was utilized to solicit the respondents’ perception about the importance of conserving Mt. Makiling. Results showed that 96.77 percent of the students have a high level of knowledge about MMFR, with an average score of 7.31 out of eight. In terms of awareness, the respondents have an average score of 2.16, which is considered an average level of awareness. With regard to perception, the average score is 52.26, which is considered a relatively high level, with 98.39 percent of respondents being categorized as having an excellent level of perception.

Raising awareness about MMFR through educational campaigns and either the imposition of a PhP 30 increase on the entrance fee or the collection of a Php55 environmental fee are recommended to further conserve MMFR.

Language

English

LC Subject

Natural resources conservation areas, Natural resources—Environmental aspects, Forest conservation--Philippines

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2025 A14 B37

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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