Biodiversity needs our attention because humans receive a wide range of direct and indirect benefits. Valuation of biodiversity is important to establish the importance of use and non-use values of biological resources and cost of ignoring them.Against this backdrop, the aim of this study is to capture the recreational value of the national park biodiversity while employing travel cost method. To this end, the value of the economic benefits generated by sustainable management of Dachigam National Park in Jammu and Kashmir (India) is estimated using data from 301 visitors from different parts of the country. Data are analysed using count data models, and results reveal that travel cost method is suitable for valuation of various use values generated by environmental resources such as national parks. Estimated results show that consumer surplus per visitor per visit in present study is equal to Rs. 12,470 (US $197), which translates into an annual monetary recreational value of about Rs. 247,614,828 (approximately US $3,930,395). Demand for tourism services is also found to be fairly insensitive to travel cost/price. Therefore, an increase in entry fee and redistribution of proceeds --This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
PurposeBiodiversity loss has become widespread since current rates are potentially catastrophic for species and habitat integrity, and the Dachigam National Park in Jammu and Kashmir (India) is not a distinctive case. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) for biodiversity conservation of the Park.Design/methodology/approachA survey-based choice experiment method was carried out at the Dachigam National Park, an area that is threatened by several anthropogenic pressures. Attributes selected for analysis through choice experiments were endangered species, national park area, research and education opportunities the park withholds. To estimate WTP, a monetary variable involving an increase in entry fee was also incorporated. To obtain the estimates, the authors use the augmented conditional logit model.FindingsWTP for the selected attributes per visitor turned out to be ₹302.07 for enhancing the population of endangered species, ₹121.91 for improvement in the park area and ₹171.64 for increasing research and education opportunities the park withholds.Research limitations/implicationsThough the study uncovers very important aspects of evaluating the biological resources, albeit with some limitations. The study estimates WTP for biodiversity conservation using a conditional logit model, which is based on a specific area and population sample. It would be better if a broader sample is considered to trace out the findings for meaningful generalization. Besides, the results can be replicated for similar kinds of samples.Practical implicationsWith the use of benefits transfer method, this study aims to provide policymakers with useful information to manage biodiversity attributes across the Himalayan region.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this study is to provide a critical understanding of the valuation to facilitate the concerned body for better planning and management of biological resources. The findings of the present study can be used as an indicator of the inherent economic importance of biological resources across the Himalayan range for their better management and conservation that can help in ensuring sustainable utilization of these resources.
The main objective of this conference is to involve all the stakeholders in informed discussions on the current state of micro-finance in India and its neighbouring countries. The conference was attended by several delegates from all over the country. It was also attended by some people from other developing countries. The conference was supported by SIDBI, NABARD and ICSSR.
Little's concluding chapter titled 'Lessons for EFA' pulls together findings from the various chapters and from other sources, and synthesises them under three heads: learners, the teaching-learning process and enabling environment. It builds usefully on the 'points of reference' provided by Lewin. The overall tone is one of suggesting possibilities to explore further: changing mindsets, not pushing a new orthodoxy. This truly illuminates many aspects of schooling in the twenty-first century, and not only the specific features of the multi-grade sector. A set of policy questions (40!) is generated for proponents of EFA.
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