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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.

This paper employs a stated preference environmental valuation method i.e. Contingent Valuation Method to estimate the willingness to pay for the conservation of the Dachigam National Park as well as value estimates crucial to the development of the park acquisition and management policy. A contingent valuation study is conducted with 301 visitors and the data are analysed using the binary logit model. Results show that the majority of the tourists (benefitted from the use values of the park) were willing to pay (WTP) for its improvement. Respondents' willingness to pay for the conservation of the park ranges from Rs. 110 to Rs. 140 per year with a mean of around Rs. 125 per year. With the use of the benefits transfer method, this case study is expected to provide policy-makers, corporate players, stakeholders with useful information for the conservation of biodiversity in the Indian sub-continent, as well as in other countries.

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The study investigates economic growth and club convergence in a crosscountry framework from 1970-1971 to 2014-2015. In particular, we test the club convergence hypothesis through a non-parametric and spatial interaction setting. The kernel density estimate shows a cyclical behaviour of per capita incomes, albeit following a common steady state. The conditional distribution is concentrated around the mean indicating a similar relative position across the heterogeneous countries. The transitional probabilities are strong enough to demonstrate a significant sign of clubbing. On testing the convergence hypothesis, we perceive strong evidence of club convergence across the countries. A persistent spatial dependence is unveiled across the proximities, therefore confirming the neighbour's effects in club formation. The study realizes a need to harmonize the interaction between the countries to improve the conditions for achieving long-run sustained economic growth.

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Vietnam is a key player in India's Act East Policy and is distressed due to China's overarching position in the South China Sea. China's expanding infrastructural investments in India's periphery have led to a regional security dilemma in Indian Ocean Region. India is steered to pursue opportunities to counter China in the latter's periphery, to which Vietnam fits as an apt ally. Hence, this paper examines the heightened need for realigning India's Vietnam policy in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and explains how bilateral cooperation through sustainable trade, renewable energy production, and green investments can offer a "counter" to Chinese expansion in Indo-Pacific and its Belt and Road Initiative. This paper uses the theoretical framework of Balance of Power to enumerate how geostrategic policy decisions in India-Vietnam bilateral relations can create a "counterbalance" to the Chinese investments in India's neighborhood, especially in Pakistan.

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.