Assessing Household Willingness to Pay for the Conservation of the Phou Chom Voy Protected Area in Lao PDR

Abstract

This study aimed to examine whether local residents were willing to pay (WTP) for the improvement of the Phou Chom Voy Protected Area (PCV PA), by using the hypothetical scenario framework of the contingent valuation method. We interviewed a sample of 365 local residents. Among the respondents, 271 were willing to pay to maintain the protected area. Most residents who refused to pay had low incomes and stated that they did not want to increase their monthly expenses by contributing to the conservation fund. The estimated mean willingness to pay among the respondents who expressed the maximum willingness to pay for natural forest conservation because of its natural value and attractiveness for tourism was Lao Kip (LAK) 27,055/year. The aggregate willingness to pay for the protected area improvement was approximately LAK 93 million. The logit regression results revealed that age, education level, annual household income, and attitude toward conservation significantly influenced willingness to pay. The results of this study provide insights into applying willingness to pay in sustainable financing, to develop market-based conservation approaches in protected areas, thus reducing ongoing biodiversity losses and maintaining natural resources.