IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/enviro/v6y2018i2p48-55n6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An economic evaluation of a forest park using the individual travel cost method (a case study of Ghaleh Rudkhan forest park in northern Iran)

Author

Listed:
  • Zandi Solmaz
  • Limaei Soleiman Mohammadi
  • Amiri Neda

    (Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Sowmeh Sara, P.O.Box 1144,Iran)

Abstract

The true economic value of ecosystem services may not be reflected in market transactions, because there is no real transaction for ecosystem services in the market. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the cost of time and travel to define the value people place on something in the absence of a market price. This study estimates the recreational value of Ghaleh Rudkhan forest park in the north of Iran using the individual travel cost method. This method is considered to be a substitute approach for the market. The data required were collected using questionnaires. Therefore, 271 questionnaires were randomly distributed between the visitors of the recreational site in 2016. In this study, a linear function is used to estimate the effects of explanatory variables including economic and social variables on the number of visits to estimate the recreational value of the forest park. Results showed that a consumer surplus of each person for their visit was 21500 Rials and the annual recreational value of the park was 78390595 Rials per ha. Furthermore, the variables such as travel expenses, income, distance, family size and visitor’s age are effective factors in the recreational use of the park. The results of this study can improve the quality of environmental services of the Ghaleh Rudkhan forest park and could expand the variety of services that they could supply based on the demand of the people.

Suggested Citation

  • Zandi Solmaz & Limaei Soleiman Mohammadi & Amiri Neda, 2018. "An economic evaluation of a forest park using the individual travel cost method (a case study of Ghaleh Rudkhan forest park in northern Iran)," Environmental & Socio-economic Studies, Sciendo, vol. 6(2), pages 48-55, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:enviro:v:6:y:2018:i:2:p:48-55:n:6
    DOI: 10.2478/environ-2018-0014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/environ-2018-0014
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/environ-2018-0014?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicola Lansdell & Lata Gangadharan, 2003. "Comparing Travel Cost Models And The Precision Of Their Consumer Surplus Estimates: Albert Park And Maroondah Reservoir," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 399-417, December.
    2. V. Kerry Smith, 1993. "Nonmarket Valuation of Environmental Resources: An Interpretive Appraisal," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 69(1), pages 1-26.
    3. Nick Hanley & Clive L. Spash, 1993. "Cost–Benefit Analysis and the Environment," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 205.
    4. Gillespie, Robert, 1997. "Economic Value and Regional Economic Impact of Minnamurra Rainforest Centre, Budderoo National Park," 1997 Conference (41st), January 22-24, 1997, Gold Coast, Australia 136013, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    5. Bartczak, Anna & Lindhjem, Henrik & Navrud, Ståle & Zandersen, Marianne & Zylicz, Tomasz, 2008. "Valuing forest recreation on the national level in a transition economy: The case of Poland," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(7-8), pages 467-472, October.
    6. Joe Amoako-Tuffour & Roberto Martínez-Espiñeira, 2012. "Leisure and the Net Opportunity Cost of Travel Time in Recreation Demand Analysis: An Application to Gros Morne National Park," Journal of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 25-49, May.
    7. Bujosa Bestard, Angel & Riera Font, Antoni, 2010. "Estimating the aggregate value of forest recreation in a regional context," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 205-216, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nicolas Borzykowski & Andrea Baranzini & David Maradan, 2017. "A travel cost assessment of the demand for recreation in Swiss forests," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 98(3), pages 149-171, December.
    2. Heagney, E.C. & Rose, J.M. & Ardeshiri, A. & Kovac, M., 2019. "The economic value of tourism and recreation across a large protected area network," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Heagney, E.C. & Rose, J.M. & Ardeshiri, A. & KovaÄ , M., 2018. "Optimising recreation services from protected areas – Understanding the role of natural values, built infrastructure and contextual factors," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(PC), pages 358-370.
    4. Anthony Amoah & Peter G. Moffatt, 2017. "Estimating demand for reliable piped-water services in urban Ghana: An application of competing valuation approaches," University of East Anglia School of Economics Working Paper Series 2017-01, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    5. Muhammad Rafiq & Shafiqullah, 2007. "Demand Analysis of Recreation Visits to Chitral Valley: A Natural Resource Management Perspective," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 46(4), pages 971-984.
    6. Nicola Lansdell & Lata Gangadharan, 2003. "Comparing Travel Cost Models And The Precision Of Their Consumer Surplus Estimates: Albert Park And Maroondah Reservoir," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 399-417, December.
    7. Mikołaj Czajkowski & Marek Giergiczny & Jakub Kronenberg & Jeffrey Englin, 2019. "The Individual Travel Cost Method with Consumer-Specific Values of Travel Time Savings," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 74(3), pages 961-984, November.
    8. S. Mohammadi Limaei & H. Ghesmati & R. Rashidi & N. Yamini, 2014. "Economic evaluation of natural forest park using the travel cost method (case study; Masouleh forest park, north of Iran)," Journal of Forest Science, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 60(6), pages 254-261.
    9. Choi, Andy S., 2013. "Nonmarket values of major resources in the Korean DMZ areas: A test of distance decay," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 97-107.
    10. Jose M. Martínez-Paz & Angel Perni & Federico Martínez-Carrasco, 2013. "Assessment of the Programme of Measures for Coastal Lagoon Environmental Restoration Using Cost--Benefit Analysis," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 131-148, February.
    11. Kaiser, Brooks A., 2006. "The national environmental policy act's influence on USDA forest service decision-making, 1974-1996," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 109-130, June.
    12. Karine Nyborg & Inger Spangen, 2000. "Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Democratic Ideal," Nordic Journal of Political Economy, Nordic Journal of Political Economy, vol. 26, pages 83-93.
    13. Beal, Diana J., 1995. "A Travel Cost Analysis of the Value of Carnarvon Gorge National Park for Recreational Use," Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 63(02), pages 1-12, August.
    14. Juan Brida & Marta Disegna & Raffaele Scuderi, 2014. "The behaviour of repeat visitors to museums: review and empirical findings," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 2817-2840, September.
    15. Mogaka, Violet Moraa & Mbatia, O.L.E. & Nzuma, Jonathan M., 2012. "Feasibility of Biofuel Production in Kenya: The Case of Jatropha," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126427, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Dhakal, Bhubaneswor & Yao, Richard T. & Turner, James A. & Barnard, Tim, 2012. "Recreational users' willingness to pay and preferences for changes in planted forest features," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 34-44.
    17. Gurluk, Serkan, 2006. "The estimation of ecosystem services' value in the region of Misi Rural Development Project: Results from a contingent valuation survey," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 209-218, December.
    18. Boncinelli, Fabio & Riccioli, Francesco & Marone, Enrico, 2015. "Do forests help to keep my body mass index low?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 11-17.
    19. Martin C. Whitby & W. Neil Adger, 1997. "Natural And Reproducible Capital And The Sustainability Of Land Use In The Uk: A Reply," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1‐3), pages 454-458, January.
    20. Pelletier, Marie-Chantale & Heagney, Elizabeth & KovaÄ , Mladen, 2021. "Valuing recreational services: A review of methods with application to New South Wales National Parks," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:enviro:v:6:y:2018:i:2:p:48-55:n:6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.