The value of protected natural environments is important for policy-making in a world of increasingly scarce natural resources. The natural environment includes protected areas such as forest reserves and lake parks which are also areas with high potential for ecotourism. The increasing demand for tourism has led to the development of infrastructure and facilities, particularly the development for ecotourism. However, the economic benefits of natural ecotourism areas are not readily quantified because of the unavailable market price. This is true for the forest and lake resources where the potential and realised benefits for recreation purposes are not valuated. If valuation is not done, the allocation of the resources cannot be optimised and the natural resources may be converted for other purposes. Quantifying the economic value of natural environment resources can show where goods and services are currently underpriced by the market. It can also indicate whether there is potential to develop new markets, to charge prices for the use of natural resources, or to capture natural resource benefits in financial terms. Other than generating revenue, prices and market measures can provide an effective means of regulating the demand for resources and of providing incentives for sustainable management. The purpose of the study is to estimate the value of Sultan Ismail Petra Ecosystem Protection Park (Pergau Lake), in Malaysia, through non-users’ willingness to pay (WTP). In this study, the dichotomous-choice contingent-valuation method (CVM) was employed to estimate the economic value of conserving the park through face-to-face interviews. The WTP was elicited from a total of 268 respondents. The respondents were asked whether they would be willing to contribute a conservation fee to preserve the park as a recreational site. The average WTP for all respondents was estimated to range between RM111.22 and RM293.12 annually, which translates to a contribution of between RM11.22 million and RM29.58 million in aggregate for the year 2019.
Coastal erosion is a concern to coastline management, and it affects the socio-economic well-being of local communities. The rehabilitation of Selabat Mudflats Nature Reserve (SMNR) in Sarawak is one of the most impressive achievements of the “Mangrove and Suitable Tree Species Planting at the National Coastline Program” implemented by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE). The rehabilitation efforts began in 2009, where 20 hectares of Rhizophora mucronata were planted and followed by an additional 1.7 hectares of Casuarina equisetifolia. Previously, this area was a sandy coastline where coastal erosion occurred every year causing local loss of land and properties. However, through conservation and rehabilitation efforts, this area was restored and is now able to generate more income for local communities as well as playing a protective role against coastal erosion caused by coastal waves and strong winds. In 2016, this study was conducted to assess the economic impacts of SMNR rehabilitation. The findings from a sample of 42 households showed that the income generated for local communities around SMNR amounted to RM250, 320 per month or RM3, 003,840 per year. A non-user survey of 401 samples was also conducted, using Contingent Valuation Method to estimate the economic value of SMNR rehabilitation. The result showed the economic value of rehabilitation of SMNR was RM39 million for the year 2016 or RM195, 980 per hectare. These findings showed that the function of rehabilitation and conservation of mangroves forests against coastal erosion brings positive economic impacts. Rehabilitation and conservation of mangrove areas in Malaysia should be given more attention as global warming and rising sea level are going to have negative impacts on coastal settlements. Wise decision-making in the utilisation and allocation of limited resources is important particularly in the context of conflict between conservation and other development that led to its destruction.
Ecotourism is one of the strategies in eradicating rural poverty especially for communities living within and adjacent the forest. These communities depend on forest resources both directly and indirectly to generate household income through ecotourism or any forest-related activities. Ecotourism also claimed to be one of conservation strategies which contribute to the long-term conservation of the forest as well as mitigating or reducing conflicts between human and environment. A study was conducted starting from 2016 to 2020 to evaluate socio-economic benefits of forest and its resources towards communities. One of the objectives is to determine whether ecotourism development helps to eradicate rural poverty and improve household income of the local communities in Peninsular Malaysia. However, this paper only focuses on the preliminary result from four states namely Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Negeri Sembilan. A total of 1439 households from 44 villages were successfully interviewed between 2016 and 2018. Data and information were collected through rapid rural appraisal; focus group discussion and household survey guided by structured questionnaire. The impact of ecotourism and forestry related activities towards socio-economic of communities can be assessed through the households’ monthly income. The findings showed there are significant economic benefits and the income received from ecotourism and forestry related activities are important in reducing poverty among local households. Hence, forest conservation strategies should pay more attention to balance the needs for conservation and reducing rural poverty.
Preserving forest watershed areas has become crucial in capturing and storing water, contributing enough water supply for domestic and non-domestic purposes such as agriculture, recreation, and energy generation. Unlike primary goods such as food and fuel, most ecosystem services like watersheds do not have market values, where the protection of these services is barely considered in economic decisions. The study aims to estimate the value of the economic benefit of the forest ecosystem for watershed services in Kelantan by using the willingness to pay (WTP). The simple random method has been employed to collect the data via face to face to interviews with 1043 households in Kelantan. The finding of this study estimated the economic value of Kelantan’s forest ecosystem for watershed services amounted to RM48 million annually, which could be worthwhile for protection or conservation fees. The public’s interest in contributing to the forest watershed services in Kelantan indicates that relevant stakeholders need more collaborative effort, including non-governmental organisations and federal and state governments, to conserve and preserve the forest ecosystem in Malaysia, specifically for watershed services.
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