Valuing Ecological Restoration and Recreational Benefits in a Mountain Protected Area: The Case of Los Nevados National Park, Colombia

Abstract

This study uses travel cost and contingent valuation methods to derive estimates of economic value for recreational use of Los Nevados National Park in the Andean region of Colombia. Park visitors were surveyed regarding their travel costs and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for ecological restoration of areas affected by wildfires in 2006. The travel cost data was analyzed using a zonal travel cost model. The contingent valuation experiment used a dichotomous choice format followed by an open-ended question asking for their maximum WTP for restoration. Consumer surplus for recreational use of the park was found to be large relative to the budget of the Colombian Parks Service, which justifies continued funding. Respondents' WTP for ecological restoration was modest and possibly influenced by bequest values, but unaffected by potential information bias.

Revisiting the importance of visitation: Public perceptions of park benefits

“…Previous research demonstrates that a majority of physical health benefits derived from parks occur as the result of multiple and frequent visits to parks (Godbey et al., 2005). Evidence suggests that proximity to parks, especially in urban landscapes, results in more physical activity being undertaken in parks and more health benefits for visitors (Alvarez and Larkin, 2010).…”

Estimating the recreational use value of Tis-Abay Waterfall in the upstream of the Blue Nile River, North-West Ethiopia

“…Respondents on average visited the site 1.39 times per year ( Table 3 ), with the majority (75%) of visitors making a single trip ( Fig. 2 ) ( Ortaçeşme et al, 2002 ; Whitehead et al, 2008 ; Alvarez and Larkin, 2010 ).

Figure 2 Trip frequency (proportion of respondents).

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Efficiency of Cu(II) Removal From Aqueous Media as a Function of Algal Extract Polysaccharide Content

“…Intelligent use of biodiverse resources is important for sustainable development because ecosystem services (such as provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural) are supported by biodiversity. Scientific approaches to sustainable development have been reported in various fields such as nature conservation (Alvarez & Larkin, 2010), plastics recycling (Chen et al, 2006), research (Wu et al, 2009, and education on the sustainable use of bioresources (Kanno et al, 2011). At the 10 th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD-COP10) held in Nagoya, Japan, delegates from more than 100 countries agreed on a new strategic plan, known as the "Aichi Biodiversity Targets" (Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2010).…”