Social Assessment of the Value of Forests and Protected Areas on the Example of the Silesian Voivodeship

Abstract

This article investigates the social attitudes towards forests and protected areas among the inhabitants of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. The survey was used as a research tool. The respondents were asked about following issues: Willingness to pay (WTP) to preserve forest functions in the case of logging reduction, willingness to pay (WTP) to preserve protected areas, and the possibility of running business activities in protected areas. The study involved 1204 respondents. The collected answers were used for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used at this stage. The obtained results allowed to assess a relatively low willingness to pay among the surveyed respondents (WTP > 0 in the case of 24.8% of respondents to preserve forest functions in managed forests and 21.1% to preserve protected areas). The diverse factors, such as age, as well as professional and economic status, could be considered as related to this phenomenon.