Willingness to Pay for Environmental Conservation of Peat and Aquatic Ecosystems in a Cash-Poor Community: A Riau Case Study

Abstract

This study assesses the Willingness to Pay (WTP) for environmental conservation in a community with limited incomes that is experiencing peatland degradation. Rantau Baru village is a unique environment in which both aquatic and peatland ecosystems are equally dominant, but community members mainly depend on the freshwater ecosystem for livelihoods and income. Based on survey data from 152 households, the study uses a contingent valuation method (CVM) to measure how villagers value each ecosystem and an ordinary least square (OLS) method to measure the significance of factors influencing WTP for conservation of peatland and fishing areas. It finds that WTP for conserving fishing areas is closely associated with household expenditures, while WTP for conservation of peatlands is associated with education and weakly associated with household expenditures. Community members’ WTP for the conservation of both peatlands and fishing areas is very much associated with their perception of these environments.