Suchergebnisse

This paper discusses the results of a contingent valuation (CV) survey that estimated the value that Metro Manila residents placed on the water supply improvements that will result from better management of the Angat, Ipo, Umiray and La Mesa watersheds. The CV survey was conducted among 2,232 respondents. These people were drawn from 13 municipalities and cities in Metro Manila that draw water from the four watersheds. There are two water distributors in the area: Maynilad Water Services, Inc. and the Manila Water Company, Inc. About two thirds of the respondents were connected to either of these two water distributors. The study found that Metro Manila residents have a low awareness level about watersheds, but possess a good grasp of the role forests play in sustaining water supply. About 60 percent of the respondents revealed a willingness to pay (WTP) for improved watershed management. The mean WTP, estimated through a logit model, was found to be P29/month/ household. Factors such as bidamount, the water distributor serving the household, additional water expenses, age, income, and house ownership affected the respondents' WTP. They were willing to pay mainly for a reliable water supply for both present and future generations, and also because they wanted the watersheds to continue providing a range of environmental services. Some respondents were not willing to pay because of income constraints and because they thought that watershed management should be the government's responsibility. The respondents who were willing to pay said that they would prefer a water user fee to be added to their monthly water bills, with the proviso that this should be used solely for the management of the four watersheds supplying water to Metro Manila. © 2006 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

© 2019, Department of Science and Technology. All rights reserved. To protect the country's forestlands, the Philippine government requires owners of private bamboo plantations to obtain a certificate of verification (CoV) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) prior to harvesting the bamboo poles. However, this requirement is seen as a disincentive to planting bamboo and as a hindrance to the bamboo industry's development. The present study investigated whether the economic benefits of removing the CoV would exceed the costs attendant to the absence of such a requirement in various regions where the DENR implements the CoV policy. Using region-specific pricing of labor and bamboo poles, the foreseen benefits of removing the CoV include higher income, avoided costs (on the part of landowners) like application and inspection costs, and other economic advantages associated with the increase in bamboo plantation areas. Computed as costs were the presumed higher forest protection cost and added expenditures that result from increased bamboo plantation areas supposedly encouraged by a less restrictive policy. The findings show that, for all the regions, the stream of incremental benefits (IBs) in the absence of CoV far exceeds the costs. The calculated benefit-cost ratios over a fifty-year study period at four discount rates (6%, 8%, 10%, and 12%) showed that the benefits of removing CoV consistently outweighed the costs. Hence, we prescribe that the CoV should no longer be made a requirement for harvesting bamboo from private lands.