J. For. Sci., 2008, 54(3):131-137 | DOI: 10.17221/3099-JFS

An estimation of willingness to pay for asparagus (Asparagus racemosus Willd.) collectors in Makawanpur District, Nepal

T. N. Maraseni1, J. Maroulis2, G. Cockfield3
1 Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments (ACSC), University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Toowoomba, Australia
2 Faculty of Education and ACSC, USQ, Toowoomba, Australia
3 Faculty of Business and ACSC, USQ, Toowoomba, Australia

The collection and sale of asparagus (Asparagus racemosus Willd.) is a major source of income for Praja and Tamang castes around the Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) in Nepal. However, the forests where asparagus is harvested are becoming depleted threatening the livelihood of collectors. To address this issue, at sustainable harvesting practices, the research reported here applied the contingent valuation method (bidding game) and estimated the average willingness to pay (WTP) of collectors to two asparagus collection scenarios. In the first scenario, if forests under the Department of Forests jurisdiction were managed for sustainable harvesting at 1995 rates, the average WTP of collectors was 4.4 NR/kg. In the second scenario, if the forest in the RCNP is managed in such a way that both the current harvesting rate of asparagus is sustained and they are legally allowed to collect asparagus at the present rate, the average WTP of collectors was 8.35 NR/kg. Consequently, there is a good chance of earning revenue for the government and sustaining the livelihood of asparagus dependents by the sustainable management of the Department's and the National Park's forests and giving legal permissions to collect asparagus from the National Park, which would have happened anyway but with financial and legal risks to collectors.

Keywords: Asparagus racemosus; willingness to pay; contingent valuation method; Praja; Tamang

Published: March 31, 2008  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Maraseni TN, Maroulis J, Cockfield G. An estimation of willingness to pay for asparagus (Asparagus racemosus Willd.) collectors in Makawanpur District, Nepal. J. For. Sci. 2008;54(3):131-137. doi: 10.17221/3099-JFS.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. ANSAB (Asia Network for Small Scale Bio-resources), 1998. Nepal NTFPs Network Newsletter, March 1998, Kathmandu.
    2. BANN C., 1998. The Economic Valuation of Tropical Forest Land Use Options: A Manual for Researchers. Viewed 12/1/2006.
    3. BPP (Biodiversity Profile Project), 1995. Enumeration of the Lichens of Nepal His Majestic Government of Nepal and Government of Netherlands. Kathmandu.
    4. Department of Plant Resources (1995) Medicinal Plants of Nepal for Aurvedic Drugs, Thapathali, Kathmandu.
    5. DFO District Forest Office (2002). Records of Traded NTFPs Received from Planning and Account Section of DFO Makawanpur, Hetauda, Nepal.
    6. DIXON J., SHERNON P., 1990. Analysing a National Park (Khao Yai). In: DIXON J., SHERNON P. (eds), Economics of Protected Area: A New Look at Benefits and Costs. London, Earthscan.
    7. EDWARD D.M., 1996. Non-timber Forest Products from Nepal: Aspects of the Trade in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. FORSEC Monograph 1/96.Forest Research Service Centre, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Babarmahal, Kathmandu.
    8. GOWDY J.M., 1997. The value of biodiversity: Markets, society, and ecosystems. Land Economics, 73: 25-41. Go to original source...
    9. HANEMANN M.H., 1994. Valuing the environment through contingent valuation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8: 19-43. Go to original source...
    10. JAKOBSSAN K.M., DRAGUN A.K., 1996. Contingent Valuation and Endangered Species: Methodological Issues and Application. In: WALLACE E. Oates (ed.), The Contingent Valuation Method. Cheltenham, UK, Broodfield US, Britain. Go to original source...
    11. KANEL K.R., CHAPAGAIN D.P., REGMI D.C., 1999. Current Policy and Legal Context of the Forestry Sector with Reference to the Community Forestry Program in Nepal, a draft submitted to Nepal-UK Community Forestry Project, Kathmandu.
    12. KIRTIKAR K.R., BASU B.D., 1993. Indian Medicinal Plants. 2nd Ed. Vol. 1-4, 1935 reprint. Delhi, Periodical Experts.
    13. Malla S.B., 1995. Minor Forest Products (NTFPs) of Nepal: General status and trade. FRIS, project Paper 4. HMGN/ FINNIDA, kathmandu, Nepal.
    14. MARASENI T.N., 2002. Harvesting Techniques and Market Analysis of Selected Non Timber Forest Products in Makawanpur District, Nepal. [Thesis submitted as partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.] Bangkok, AIT.
    15. MARASENI T.N., SHIVAKOTI G., 2003. Enhancement of harvesting and marketing policies for non-timber forest products in Nepal. In: HIREMATH A.J., GLADWI C., UMA SHANKAR R. (eds), Proceedings of the South Asian Regional Workshop on Policies, Utilization and Conservation of Non Timber Forest Products in South Asia Region, 28-30 April 2003, Bangalore, India.
    16. MARASENI T.N., SHIVAKOTI G., COCKFIELD G., APAN A., 2006. Nepalese Non-timber Forest Products: An Analysis of the Equitability of Profit Distribution Across a Supply Chain to India. Small-scale Forest Economics, Management and Policy, 5: 191-206. Go to original source...
    17. MFSC (Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation), 1999. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation: Annual Report, His Majesty's Government of Nepal, Kathmandu.
    18. NUNES P., BERGH J., 2001. Economic valuation of biodiversity: Sense or nonsense? Ecological Economics, 39: 203-222. Go to original source...
    19. PORTNEY P.R., 1994. The contingent valuation debate: Why economists should care. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8: 3-17. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content