Abstract
This study estimates the economic values of wetlands services in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. A choice experiment valuation method was used to quantify monetary value of wetlands. The study used data collected from 405 households complemented with data collected using Participatory Rural Appraisals. Multinomial logit and random parameter logit models were used to analyze the data. The results have demonstrated the economic values of wetlands in the study area. Households ascribe the highest value for biodiversity (marginal willingness to pay value of US $1.26 per percentage of biodiversity conserved), followed by water availability (US $0.87 per ha increase in open water surface area). The statistical inferences, however, showed significant heterogeneity among households in their preference for wetland management alternatives. The probability of choosing improved wetland management is significantly reduced by age of the household head and distance; while, it is increased by education, income and location. The finding also revealed an average and aggregate willingness to pay of US $7.5 and 694,141, respectively, for a change from status quo to high impact improvement scenario. It is, thus, recommended to take rehabilitation and conservation measures to ensure sustainable use and management of wetland resources in the area.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Wetland resources herein refer to open water of the lakes, the land surrounding the lakes that is saturated or covered with water; and the biodiversity—floras and faunas—found there.
Kebele is the smallest administrative unit in Ethiopia.
This figure of female-headed HHs might be attributable to the prevalence of polygamy in the study area.
The iid assumption is identical to IIA (independence of irrelevant alternatives) assumption—the probability of choosing an alternative is unaffected by the presence or absence of other alternative in the choice set (Kjaer 2005).
ASC captures the average effects on utility of all attributes/factors that are not included in the model.
Interacting socioeconomic variables with ASC is the common approach to introduce observed heterogeneity in many CEs. In that case, it will not affect the MWTP (Birol et al. 2006).
McFadden’s ρ2 values between 0.2 and 0.4 imply that the model fits the data well (Hauber et al. 2016).
Models with less negative LL-test value better explain the pattern of the choice in the data (Hauber et al. 2016).
Sources: the woredas’ rural land administration and environmental protection bureaus and woredas’ agriculture and rural development offices.
References
Abebe T, Seyoum A, Feyssa DH (2014) Benefits of wetland conservation interventions to local households in Southwestern Ethiopia: empirical evidence from attributes-based valuation. J Environ Sci Water Resour 3(3):60–68
Adamowicz W, Louviere J, Swait J (1998) Introduction to attribute-based stated choice method. NOAA-National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Washington
Ali M (2007) Recreational use value of Wondo Genet wetland ecosystems-Ethiopia
Amsalu T, Addisu S (2014) A review of wetland conservation and management policy in Ethiopia. Int J Sci Res Publ 4(9):1–6
Bateman IJ, Langford IH, Graham A (1995) A Survey of non-users’ willingness to pay to prevent floodplain in the Norfolk Broads. CSERGE Working Paper GEC 95-11. Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich
Bezabih B, Mosissa T (2017) Review on distribution, importance, threats and consequences of wetland degradation in Ethiopia. Int J Water Resour Environ Eng 9(3):67–71
Birol E, Karousakis K, Koundouri P (2006) Using a choice experiment to account for preference heterogeneity in wetland attributes: the case of Cheimaditida wetland in Greece. Ecol Econ 60(1):145–156
Birol E, Phoebe K, Yiannis K (2008) Using the choice experiment method to inform river management in Poland: flood risk reduction vs habitat conservation in the Upper Silesia Region. Munich Personal RePEc Archive (MPRA) Paper No 41906
Cambell D (2007) Combining mixed logit models and random effects models to identify the determinants of willingness to pay for rural landscape improvements (No. 349-2016-17923)
Carlsson F, Frykblom P, Liljenstolpe C (2003) Valuing wetland attributes: an application of choice experiments. Ecol Econ 47:95–103
Chaikumbung M, Doucouliagos H, Scarborough H (2016) The economic value of wetlands in developing countries: a meta-regression analysis. Ecol Econ 124:164–174
Dahmardeh M, Shahraki J (2014) Economic valuation of environmental resources in Hamoon. International wetland, using choice experiment method. Int J Agric For 4(5):394–401
De Groot D, Brander L, Finlayson M (2016) Wetland ecosystem services. In: Finlayson CM et al (eds) The Wetland Book. Pp 228–238. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6172-8_66-1
Engida TG, Mengistu AT (2013) Explaining the determinants of community based forest management: evidence from Alamata. Ethiop Int J Community Dev 1(2):63–70. https://doi.org/10.11634/233028791301431
Gebeyehu G, Gashaw T, Edae D (2015) Environmental degradation and its effect on terrestrial and aquatic diversity in the Abijata-Shala Lakes National Park, Ethiopia. Point J Agric Biotechnol Res 1(1):001–012
Hauber AB, Gonzalez JM, Groothuis-Oudshoom CG, Prior T, Marshall DA, Cunningham C, Ijzerman MJ, Bridges JF (2016) Statistical methods for the analysis of discrete choice experiments: a report of the ISPOR Conjoint Analysis Good Research Practices Task Force. Value Health 19:300–315
Hengsdijk H, Groot AME, van Driel, LMJW, Jembere K, van Uum JH, Boone P (2009) Towards a sustainable future of the western shoreline of Lake Ziway: participatory land use plan development workshop, Plant Research International, Ziway, 1–4 December 2008 (No. 234)
Kjaer T (2005) A review of the discrete choice experiment-with emphasis on its application in health care. Syddansk Universitet, Odense
Lancaster KJ (1966) A new approach to consumer theory. J Political Econ (Published by the University of Chicago Press) 74(2):132–157
McCartney M, Rebelo L-M, Senaratna SS, de Silva S (2010) Wetlands, Agriculture and Poverty Reduction. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute. IWMI Research Report 39P. https://doi.org/10.5337/2010.230
McFadden D (1974) Conditional logit analysis of qualitative choice behavior. In: Zarembka P (ed) Frontiers in econometrics, vol 105, no 42. Academic Press, New York
MEA, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Ecosystems and human well-being: wetlands and water synthesis. World resources institute, Washington, DC
Menbere IP, Menbere TP (2018) Wetland ecosystems in Ethiopia and their implications in ecotourism and biodiversity conservation. J Ecol Nat Environ 10(6):80–96
Merino-Castello A (2003) Eliciting consumers preferences using stated preference discrete choice models: contingent ranking versus choice experiment. UPF economics and business working paper, (705)
Meshesha DT, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M, Haregeweyen N (2012) Dynamics and hotspots of soil erosion and management scenario of the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Int J Sedim Res 27(1):84–99
Pascual-Ferrer J, Candela L (2015) Water Balance on the Central Rift Valley', in Case studies for developing globally responsible engineers, GDEE (eds) Global Dimension in Engineering Education, Barcelona
Pascual-Ferrer J, Pérez-Foguet A, Codony J, Raventós E, Candela L (2014) Assessment of water resources management in the Ethiopian Central Rift Valley: environmental conservation and poverty reduction. Int J Water Resour Dev 30(3):572–587
Scarpa R, Rose JM (2008) Design efficiency for non-market valuation with choice modeling: how to measure it, what to report and why. Aust J Agric Resour Econ 52:253–282
Schuyt KD (2005) Economic consequences of wetland degradation for local populations in Africa. Ecol Econ 53(2):177–190
Temesgen H, Nyssen J, Zeneber A, Haregeweyen N, Kindu M, Lemenih M, Haile M (2013) Ecological succession and land use changes in a lake retreat area (Main Ethiopian Rift Valley). J Arid Environ 91:53–60
Train K (2009) Discrete choice methods with simulation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Turner RK, Van de Bergh JCJM, Barendregt A, Maltby E (1998) Ecological-economic analysis of wetlands: science and social science integration. TI Discussion Paper, (98-050/3)
Van Liere KD, Dunlap RE (1980) The social bases of environmental concern: a review of hypotheses, explanations, and empirical evidence. Public Opin Q 44(2):181–197
Yimenu Z, Rao N (2015) Economic analysis of household preferences for Wetland attributes: application of choice experiment to the case of Lake Tana Wetlands. Int J Appl Innov Eng Manag 4(11):1–14
Acknowledgements
The authors extend their profound gratitude to Addis Ababa University (AAU) and Bahir Dar University (BDU) for their financial support for accomplishment of this study. We are also very grateful to the people of the study community and sample respondents, agricultural development agents, and local administrators of the study area for their assistance during the field work. The authors wish to warmly thank anonymous reviewers for review and their constructive comments which have immensely helped to improve the quality of the paper.
Funding
This study was funded by Addis Ababa University [2016–2018] and Bahir Dar University [2015/16].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Preparation of data collection materials/instruments, data collection, data analysis and writing the manuscript were performed by [FD]. [FS, Ph.D., Associate Professor] and [DDG, Ph.D.] participated in the study design, shaped and commented on the data collection instruments, supervised the data collection, technically supported the data analysis and read, commented and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
About this article
Cite this article
Dechasa, F., Senbeta, F. & Guta, D. Economic value of wetlands services in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Environ Econ Policy Stud 23, 29–53 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10018-020-00277-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10018-020-00277-4