Gender's Effect on Willingness to Pay for Watershed Protective Function in Langat Basin, Malaysia

Author : Suziana Hassan, Devika Krishnan

Abstract :The monetary value and worth of watershed protection services have been neglected and underestimated in land use decisions for sustainable management. Feasible payments for watershed value ecosystem services are evolving as a sustainable tool to protect and conserve ecosystems. Payment for ecosystem services (PES) discovers the potential of payment for watershed services as an economic instrument underpinning and promoting sustainable land management and financing conservation towards watershed ecosystems from households at a national level. This study examines eliciting households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for watershed ecosystem services for sustainable watershed management through a conservation fund added to a monthly water bill. The total sample in the Langat Basin area was 540 covering 12 districts in Selangor state of Malaysia. Primary data were collected from the sampled upstream, middle stream, and downstream households of Langat Basin using a structured questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. The study outcomes demonstrated that the mean and Median WTP values for the male households were RM36.24 and RM41.30 using the log-logistics model while the mean and median for the log-normal model were RM36.24 and RM37.67. On the other hand, mean and median WTP values for the female households were RM35.29 and RM37.64 using the log-logistics model while the mean and median for the log normal model were RM35.2 and RM36. The findings of this study indicated that WTP of male respondents was higher than female respondents even though the percentage difference is minor and 97.22% of households agreed to be part of PES conservation program in Langat Basin. Conservation fund for watershed ecosystem services in Langat Basin may offer an additional source of income for the state governments.

Keywords :Watershed Protection, Ecosystem Services, Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), Willingness to Pay (WTP), Sustainable Land Management, Langat Basin, Malaysia

Conference Name :International Conference on Agriculture, Environment and Biotechnology (ICAEBIO-24)

Conference Place Kowloon City, Hong Kong

Conference Date 5th Nov 2024