FACTORS DETERMINING THE WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR THE CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY OF SONE BEEL, ASSAM, INDIA
FACTORS DETERMINING THE WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR THE CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY OF SONE BEEL, ASSAM, INDIA

Summary/Abstract: The objectives of this study are to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for the conservation of biodiversity of Sone Beel, the largest wetland of Assam in India and to determine the factors affecting respondents WTP for conservation. A binary logistic regression model is used to determine the factors affecting respondents WTP. The model is well specified with a Likelihood Ratio Chi-square of 187.50 with a p-value of 0.0000 and McFadden's pseudo-Rsquared is 0.3850 which indicates that the model is a very good model. The study findings indicate that more than half (70.25%) of the respondents were WTP for the conservation of Sone Beel. In this study, although biodiversity threat is strongly significantly affecting respondent’s WTP for conservation biodiversity of Sone Beel, other factors such as distance, marital status, educational level, religion, household size, monthly household income, and father’s occupation are also significant. The most significant conclusion of the study is that it establishes that people are actually willing to pay an amount, however small, to assist the conservation of Sone Beel. Further, in this study, it is observed that those people who use the wetland are more willing to participate.

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