Nonmarket valuation in developing countries: incorporating labour contributions in environmental benefits estimates

Abstract

There are limitations associated with the application of nonmarket valuation techniques, including choice experiments, in subsistence economies. In part, this is due to the concern that using money as a mode of contribution may not capture the potential contribution of low-income households. To address this limitation, respondents in this study were provided with the option of contributing towards the management of invasive plants in labour terms if they were unwilling to contribute in monetary terms. The results show that the existing practice of using dollar values to estimate willingness to contribute may disproportionately exclude the concerns of some groups within the community. The analysis also indicates that allowing respondents to express their willingness to contribute in labour increases their participation in environmental decision-making processes and hence increases the estimated value of forest ecosystem services. This study contributes to the limited empirical literature on the development of nonmarket valuation surveys, particularly choice experiments, in low-income countries in general and rural areas in particular.

Estimating Residents’ Preferences of the Land Use Program Surrounding Forest Park, Taiwan

“…We found that higher positive preference and MWTP on the land use program are affected by higher income, having a farm and community organization membership. Similarly, a previous study focusing on residents of the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park in Nepal and selected vehicle payment (annual membership fee or labor contribution) showed that the average household WTP of the monetary group is consistently higher than that of their neighbors who prefer to contribute labor [36]. A detailed and comprehensive analysis reveals the local residents' various preferences towards land-use management strategies for community conservation in a forest park.…”

“…Table 5 depicts the results of the LCM analysis with two latent groups. It found out that the respondents' income [6,36,53], duration of residence, membership in the community group [6], land ownership [53,54] and occupation were significant [55]. The group membership characteristic included farmers and non-farmers.…”

“…For the MWTP on land use planning, the best scenario was ecotourism development followed by natural conservation and environmentally friendly agriculture. As an ecotourism case of rural communities adjacent to Kruger National Park [36] and the land use program of conservation policy and active ecotourism in Spain [13] suggest, higher MWTP could be achieved by increasing the environmental quality and setting up an integrated ecotourism package. For the MWTW on land use planning, the best scenario is natural conservation followed by ecotourism development and environmentally friendly agriculture.…”

“…"Willingness to work" means the labor contributed (hours) per person per month towards improving environmental quality in a protected area. Rai and Scarborough [36] pointed out that the respondent will increase the labor time to participate in an environmentally friendly program. Furthermore, past studies used the labor times as a tool, and found that households are more willing to contribute labor time than money [28].…”

Discrete Choice Experiments in Developing Countries: Willingness to Pay Versus Willingness to Work

“…In a related study Rai and Scarborough (2014) report the findings of a similar DCE, however, on this occasion a split sample approach was used where the respondent was permitted to choose their preferred payment option, either money or labour, for the DCE. Roughly 35 % chose the money option whilst the remainder (65 %) chose the labour option.…”