Estimating the Economic Value of Recreational-Conservation Services of the National Botanical Garden of Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. of Agricultural Economics, Researcher of Kargosha Human-Urban Ecology Group, Tehran, Iran

2 M.Sc. Student of Energy Economic, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Economists have recently recognized the role of natural resources and the environment in human welfare and have made great efforts to evaluate environmental goods and services. The present study examines the recreational and conservation values of the National Botanical Garden of Iran and measures the willingness of people to pay a visit. Using the logit model and the contingent valuation method (CVM), the amount of willingness to pay by visitors is calculated for recreational and conservation values of the Garden as well as its annual recreational value. Required data is collected in 1396 through the completion of a 200 questionnaires from Botanical Garden visitors per year. The results show that the average willingness to pay per visitor to maintain the value of recreational-conservation services of the Botanical Garden is 226980 Rials, which has a positive relationship with the growing level of income and the decreasing proposed amount and a negative relationship with the increasing household’s size and the increase in the bid variable. According to the results obtained, 71% of Botanical Garden visitors tend to spend at least 100, 000 Rials of their monthly income to maintain its services. Given the annual number of current visitors (18, 000-13, 000 people) and their willingness to pay, the total annual economic value of the Garden is calculated at 4.8 billion Riyals and the value per hectare of the Garden is estimated at about 28 million Riyals.

Keywords

Journal of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Volume 3, Issue 7 - Serial Number 7
February 2020
Pages 27-50

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History

  • Receive Date: 20 March 2021
  • Accept Date: 20 March 2021

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