Villagers Willingness to Pay for Forest Conservation in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine the willingness to pay for forest conservation among villagers living at the perimeter fence of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The multistage sampling procedure was adopted for the study. A total number of four hundred and eight respondents comprising of farmers, hunters, herbalists and herb sellers were randomly selected and interviewed using copies of well-structured questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Log it regression model. The study showed that the average age of farmers and hunters was 55 and 57 years while the average age of herb sellers was 43 and herbalist 63 years. Majority of the respondents pooled together are male, married with an average age of 55 years and household size of 7 members. The larger percentage of them were native of the study area, not educated, not employed, but having the monthly income between 12,000- 20,000 naira (US$33.38 to US$55.63) and closer to the forest by 1-9 km. The mean willingness to pay for forest conservation was N114.38 (US$0.32) per month per household and the total willingness to pay was N3, 461,024.42 (US$9, 627.32) per month. The study further revealed that there was significant relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and their willingness to pay for forest conservation. Variables such as gender, educational level, occupation, income and bid amounts had significant effect on the willingness to pay for forest conservation. The study therefore recommends that monetary value should be placed on the social, cultural, ecological and economic services generated by the forests for the forests to continue to provide goods and services on a sustainable basis. Also, the willingness to pay for forest conservation can be used as an alternative measure of displeasure against the conversion of the forests to other uses and as a supportive argument for the invaluable roles the forests play in sustaining the livelihood of the people.