Non-market valuation of the benefits of protecting Lake Danao National Park in Ormoc, Philippines

Issue Date

1999

Abstract

This paper presents the valuation process and important findings of a non-market valuation study which aims to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for presrvation benefits of protecting the environmental attributes of Lake Danao National Park (LDNP) in Ormoc City, Philippines. The study used the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) with three WTP question formats, namely open-ended, payment card, and iterative bidding. a total of 210 respondents from urban and rural categories were interviewed. Factors affecting WTP bid for protecting LDNP were identified and analyzed using the the Tobit (censored regression) model. The environmental attributes of LDNP comsidered in deriving total WTP were forest quality, wilderness biodiversity, and lake quality. Results showed that all respondents were aware about LNDP as a recreational site in Ormoc City. Of the environmental attributes considered in the study, forest quality was the most preferred among urban respondents, whereas, lake quality was considered more important among rural respondents. Urban and rural respondents attached equal importance to biodiversity. Ninety-one percent (91%) of the respondents expressed WTP for a protection program to preserve the environmental attributes of LNDP. The mean annual total WTP was estimated to be P121.70 for urban respondents and P93.09 for rural respondents, or an average of P108.45 for all respondents. For the households in Ormoc, the total social WTP was estimated to be P2.44 million annually. Thus value reflects the maximum amount that Ormoc residents were willing to invest to preseve LNDP. Willingness to pay for various motives of protection (recreational use, option, existence, and bequest) was derived in the study. Of these various motives, the last three (collectively termed as preservation value) received the highest allocation (77% to 91%) of total WTP. Factors affecting WTP for recreation and preservations demands of LDNP were analyzed and discussed.

Source or Periodical Title

Journal of Environmental Science and Management

ISSN

0119-1144

Volume

2

Issue

2

Page

13-32

Document Type

Article

Frequency

semi-annually

Physical Description

tables

Language

English

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