Smallholder households' willingness to pay for conservation of ecosystem services of Altash National Park of Ethiopia

Abstract

Despite exceptional ecosystem services are providing by Altash National Park, anthropogenic activities exert immense pressures on the park's natural resources from the surrounding community which is eventually degrading the productivity of ecosystem services. Therefore, this study investigated smallholder households' willingness to pay for conservation of ecosystem services of the Park from October 2019 to December 2020 using 196 sample respondents selected through systematic random sampling. Double bounded dichotomous choice followed by open ended format of contingent valuation method was used to state households' willingness to pay (WTP) and their maximum WTP respectively for conservation of ecosystem services of the park. Seemingly unrelated bivariate probit model was employed to analyze the data. First and second offered bid values, gender of respondent, years of living in kebelle, education status, distance from home to park, benefit of preservation, distance from farm to park, training on park conservation were found to have statistically significant influence on households' WTP for conservation of ecosystem services of the park. The expected aggregate WTP from double bounded dichotomous choice and open ended format was estimated 1,511,172.96 and 1,526,194.56 birr, respectively. Based on the findings, all respondents were willing to pay for the conservation of ecosystem services of the park. Therefore, for every decision and formulation of policies and strategies, participation of local communities should be considered. Finally, regular training and workshop should be delivered for local communities to enhance awareness about the environmental and economic values of the park and to develop sense of ownership.

Keywords

• Altash National Park
• Contingent valuation method
• Ecosystem services
• Seemingly unrelated bivariate probit
• Willingness to pay