Differences in demand for watershed services: Understanding preferences through a choice experiment in the Koshi Basin of Nepal

Kumar, Rajesh; Shyamsundar, Priya; Nepal, Mani; Bhatta, Laxmi Dutt

doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.09.013

Cited by 30 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…This may be because men are more cash rich than women in Nepal and are willing to pay more than women if asked to pay in cash [46] and because men often make financial decisions in a household [47]. Our results reinforce other watershed and forest related studies that have shown that older respondents tend to select policy alternatives less frequently than younger respondents [43,48]. This seems to indicate that younger people are more willing to seek change.…”

Section: Descriptive Statisticssupporting

confidence: 80%

“…The RPL model uses an iterative process to determine parameters that need to be estimated as random [41]. In our estimation, all the attributes were treated as non-random except for the cost variable, which was assumed to have a triangular distribution to guarantee finite moments [42,43] and to ensure that the implicit price estimates (Equation (4) below) were statistically defined.…”

Section: Empirical Strategy For Estimating Willingness To Paymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Financing Watershed Services in the Foothills of the Himalayas

Kumar

Shyamsundar

Nepal

et al. 2018

Water

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Watershed management is critical for the sustainable supply of clean water to urban centers, particularly in areas of developing countries where large-scale infrastructure projects are costly to implement. In this paper, we discuss the potential for financing improvements in watershed services in the foothills of the Himalayas through Payments for Ecosystem Services. Through the use of a choice experiment to disentangle household preferences, we show that downstream water users are interested in improvements in water quality through source water protection. Households in Dharan municipality are willing to finance watershed management to the extent of USD 118,000 per year. These payments can be used to incentivize upstream households to decrease domestic livestock grazing, change agricultural practices and reduce open defecation to improve the drinking water quality and quantity in downstream areas. The estimated cost of these activities is less than $50,000 per year. Through discussions with local stakeholders, we propose a tri-partite institutional structure to facilitate transactions between downstream and upstream communities and to improve watershed services.

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Section: Descriptive Statisticssupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Empirical Strategy For Estimating Willingness To Paymentioning

confidence: 99%

Financing Watershed Services in the Foothills of the Himalayas

Kumar

Shyamsundar

Nepal

et al. 2018

Water

Self Cite

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“…However, soil conservation is one of the most important values and, therefore, should not be neglected. These values might have to be inferred from some other local practices, methods and data [47].…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ecosystem Services Valuation Research Framework for Policy Integration in Developing Countries: A Case Study from Nepal

2020

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Forest ecosystem services (ES) valuation research has increased exponentially in recent years, and scholars accept that such research could be useful in reshaping governments’ policies. Despite such scholarly efforts, the research outcomes have had limited application in actual policies and plans. This study explores reasons why ES valuation research recommendations are not reflected in policy processes and proposes a research framework which, when appropriately applied, would lead to the adoption of research findings. Literature review, semi-structured expert interviews (N = 29), and a workshop (N = 2), were used to achieve these objectives. Experts expressed that limited stakeholder engagement is the key factor hindering incorporation of ES research outcomes in policies and plans. We developed a framework that comprises four major components (inputs, actors, outcomes, impacts) and sets out the seven major steps involved in implementing this framework. Effective engagement of relevant stakeholders in each step is critical to integrate the ES research outcomes in policy and plans although this will demand a lengthy timeframe and a high investment requirement. Such engagement would create an environment of trust that enhances the acceptability of research outcomes among stakeholders. The acceptability of the research outcomes can increase ownership leading to more informed decision making, and ultimately yield desired outcomes in ES conservation.

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“…1. Rai et al (2015) use choice experiments and Eom & Larson (2006) use contingent valuation methods to identify differences in local demand for environmental services.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rai et al . () use choice experiments and Eom & Larson () use contingent valuation methods to identify differences in local demand for environmental services. Their results show a stronger preference for offering time for local environmental services rather than making a monetary payment.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Funding Conservation Locally: Insights from Behavioral Experiments in Indonesia

Nelson

Schlüter

Vance

2017

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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Proximate stressors such as destructive fishing are key drivers of coral reef degradation. Conservation strategies that marshal local action and are tailored to the preferences of the target group are thus needed to sustain coral resources. We experimentally analyze the behavior of marine resource users in a coastal village in Indonesia to gain insight into whether people prefer to donate time or money to environmental or other charitable causes. Each person is subject to one of four treatments: monetary donation, monetary donation match, volunteer time donation, and volunteer time donation match. Contrasting with the existing literature, we find that participants give significantly more when donating money compared to time. We also find that matching donations increases the percent of people giving but does not increase the amount donated. This research furthers our understanding of what motivates resource users in a developing country to contribute to the provision of public goods.

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Differences in demand for watershed services: Understanding preferences through a choice experiment in the Koshi Basin of Nepal

Cited by 30 publications

References 35 publications

Financing Watershed Services in the Foothills of the Himalayas

Financing Watershed Services in the Foothills of the Himalayas

An Ecosystem Services Valuation Research Framework for Policy Integration in Developing Countries: A Case Study from Nepal

Funding Conservation Locally: Insights from Behavioral Experiments in Indonesia

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