How do local communities valuate forest conservation through participatory management A case of Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

: Effective implementation of participatory forest management requires understanding of the needs of local communities and their valuation of forest resources conservation. Hence, this study used a contingent valuation method to estimate forest conservation value as hold by local community using data collected from 450 households in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The findings reveal that most households (83.9%) are willing to pay for forest conservation practices. The estimated average willingness to pay (WTP) for forest conservation is found to be 121.17 birr per household per year. The binary probit model result reveals that education, access to extension services, farmland ownership, dependency on forest resources, and membership in community forest management organisations favourably determine WTP for forest conservation. The result indicates that a significant economic value is attached to forest resources conservation, and hence, this study suggests that participatory forest management approach is important in sustainable forest management and the livelihood of the local community. School of Economics, University of Gondar. He has experience in teaching various economics courses for undergraduate students and has broad research interests in the areas of environmental economics, forestry and sustainability. Diptimayee Nayak is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics at Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. Her research interests spread in the broad areas of environmental and ecological economics including forest ecosystems, protected area management, biodiversity conservation, sustainability, and non-market environmental valuation techniques.