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What are we missing? Economic value of an urban forest in Ghana

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  • Dumenu, William Kwadwo

Abstract

The ecosystem services of urban forests are under threat in Ghana due to continuous conversion of urban green spaces into other land uses. The loss of urban forests is contributing to decreases in resilience and increases in vulnerability of urban dwellings to flooding and windstorms. Investing in management of urban forests and including them in urban development planning is critical and can only be pursued if economic value of urban forest services are properly assessed and appreciated. In this paper the Contingent Valuation Method is used to estimate the economic value of non-market benefits of an urban forest in Ghana. Using Cost–Benefit Analysis, the monetary value of the urban forest in the course of time was estimated. The stated monetary value of the urban forest was found to be US$694,765.50. The Net Present Value of the urban green space was US$2,786,620.65. The estimated economic value covered nine times the 10-year maintenance cost of the urban green space. As a seminal work on economic valuation of a standing urban forest in Ghana, it is envisaged that the results will inspire further research in this field, and demonstrate the need for investment in creation and management of urban forests.

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  • Dumenu, William Kwadwo, 2013. "What are we missing? Economic value of an urban forest in Ghana," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 5(C), pages 137-142.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:5:y:2013:i:c:p:137-142
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2013.07.001
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    2. Dallimer, Martin & Martin-Ortega, Julia & Rendon, Olivia & Afionis, Stavros & Bark, Rosalind & Gordon, Iain J. & Paavola, Jouni, 2020. "Taking stock of the empirical evidence on the insurance value of ecosystems," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    3. Tibesigwa, Byela & Ntuli, Herbert & Muta, Telvin, 2023. "Willingness to Pay for Nature Restoration and Conservation in Sub-Saharan African Cities: The Case of Forests, Rivers and Coasts in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania," EfD Discussion Paper 23-7, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.
    4. Sung-Kwon Hong & Ju-Mi Kim & Hyun-Kil Jo & Sang-Woo Lee, 2018. "Monetary Valuation of Urban Forest Attributes in Highly Developed Urban Environments: An Experimental Study Using a Conjoint Choice Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, July.
    5. Bockarjova, Marija & Botzen, Wouter J.W. & Koetse, Mark J., 2020. "Economic valuation of green and blue nature in cities: A meta-analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    6. Kukkonen, M.O. & Khamis, M. & Muhammad, M.J. & Käyhkö, N. & Luoto, M., 2022. "Modeling direct above-ground carbon loss due to urban expansion in Zanzibar City Region, Tanzania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    7. Ambika Markanday & Ibon Galarraga & Anil Markandya, 2019. "A Critical Review Of Cost-Benefit Analysis For Climate Change Adaptation In Cities," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(04), pages 1-31, November.
    8. Luigi La Riccia & Vanessa Assumma & Marta Carla Bottero & Federico Dell’Anna & Angioletta Voghera, 2023. "A Contingent Valuation-Based Method to Valuate Ecosystem Services for a Proactive Planning and Management of Cork Oak Forests in Sardinia (Italy)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-28, May.
    9. Gelo, Dambala & Turpie, Jane, 2021. "Bayesian analysis of demand for urban green space: A contingent valuation of developing a new urban park," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).

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