Quantification of the economic value of the recreational function of forests in the territory of Městské lesy Hradec Králové a.s.

Abstract

This article aims at the valuation of the potential and economic significance of the recreational ecosystem services of forests. The research was conducted in the area of Městské lesy Hradec Králové a.s. in 2018. A part of the questionnaire survey assessed by means of statistical analysis was based on the travel cost method and the contingent valuation method, which investigate the respondents’ willingness to pay for services resulting from the recreational ecosystem service of forests. The research specifically dealt with the visitors’ willingness to pay for the services resulting from the use of forest logging roads, forest clearings, and small structures of forest infrastructure. The questionnaires were created using foreign publications and case studies. The findings of the questionnaire survey indicated that visitors prevailingly believed that the recreational service provided by the area of interest should not be chargeable. The reason for this opinion was mainly the fact that the visitors perceive the forests in the territory of Městské lesy Hradec Králové a.s. as public goods, hence the access to them should be free of charge.

Possibilities for Harmonisation between Recreation Services and Their Production within the Forest Sector—A Case Study of Municipal Forest Enterprise Hradec Králové (CZ)

“…In a survey conducted in Zurich, 71% of the respondents rejected the entrance fee to the forest and do not consider that the use of the forest for leisure activities is a private matter [89]. As part of a survey conducted at MLHK, the vast majority of visitors disagreed with a payment for entry into the forest [94]. As part of a survey conducted in three selected forest recreational areas in the Czech Republic, 20% of the respondents answered the question "from what source should the recreational forest service be financed" that the recreational forest service should be paid for from the sale of wood.…”

Assessing the Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Mountain Forests: A Literature Review

“…In Germany, for instance, it was used to estimate the value of cultural ES (recreation) provided by German protected areas (Mayer and Woltering 2018). It was also used to estimate the potential recreational value of forest in the UK (Ezebilo 2016), in the Czech Republic (Melichar 2014;Březina et al 2019) and in Slovakia (Tutka and Kovalčík 2010). According to Moran et al (2006), a more detailed TC method was carried out assessing the cultural services provided by Scottish forests, considering the cost of mountain biking as a recreational activity.…”