The Black River Morass: Valuing Ecosystem Services in a Ramsar Protected Area

This study provides an estimate of the conservation benefits i.e. use and none-use values associated with the restoration of the ecosystem and ecosystem services at the Black River Protected Area (BRPA). This was achieved by eliciting the willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation of the ecosystem and ecosystem services within the BRPA via the contingent valuation methodology (CVM). From this value, the aggregated monetary benefits of conserving the Black River Morass were elicited. In estimating this value, the contingent valuation (CV) with a close-ended WTP elicitation format was employed. The results suggest the need for further exploration of the feasibility of a cess/tax on locals, as a potentially viable source of funding for the implementation of the Black River Protected Area Management Plan (BRPAMP) developed by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA). The parametric and non-parametric analysis returned a WTP estimate ranging between US$8 and $9 per month for the restoration of the protected area. The aggregated WTP estimate amounts to US$177.59 million annually or approximately J$15.9Bn dollars annually..