Opportunity Cost of Biodiversity Conservation and Attitudes Towards it in Assam

Abstract

The study assesses the extent of dependence on forest by the dwellers of village forests and encroachers and estimate the opportunity cost of biodiversity conservation in terms of benefits foregone as well as external cost. The study showed the attitudes of dwellers of village forests and encroachers towards biodiversity conservation through Forest Rights Act 2006. During the study period, 190 households were surveyed in four village forests and two encroached villages under reserved forests of Sonitpur and Golaghat districts of Assam. It was observed that both village-types earned a significant portion of their total income from forest which demands livelihood diversification to reduce their dependency on forest. The benefits of conservation outweighed opportunity cost of biodiversity conservation for encroached villagers. Though the dwellers of village forests and encroachers had positive attitudes towards biodiversity conservation but they were more concern about their personal rights rather than biodiversity conservation through this Act. It is recommended that environmental education program, co-management mechanism by all stakeholders and self monitoring systems by the right-holders on their use of forest resources are necessary for biodiversity conservation.

Expressed Preference Methods of Environmental Valuation: Non-Market Resource Valuation Tools<strong> </strong>

“…The opportunity cost method focuses on valuing the benefits of environmental protection when it comes to what is being foregone to achieve it (Parsons, 2013;Markandya et al 2018;Mahanta, 2014). In most cases, this method forms the basis of compensation payment, especially for the compulsory purchase driven by the government of property or land that is under eminent domain law (Haveman & Weimer, 2001).…”