Perception of local community and the willingness to pay to restore church forests: the case of Dera district, northwestern Ethiopia

In the Ethiopian highlands, church forests have a substantial contribution to landscape restoration, and conservation of endangered indigenous tree species and biodiversity. However, the environmental and economic benefits of church forests are declining due to a combination of economic, environment...

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Autores principales: Amare, D., Mekuria, Wolde, Teklewold, T., Belay, B., Teshome, A., Yitaferu, B., Tessema, T., Tegegn, B.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Informa UK Limited 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/76512
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author Amare, D.
Mekuria, Wolde
Teklewold, T.
Belay, B.
Teshome, A.
Yitaferu, B.
Tessema, T.
Tegegn, B.
author_browse Amare, D.
Belay, B.
Mekuria, Wolde
Tegegn, B.
Teklewold, T.
Teshome, A.
Tessema, T.
Yitaferu, B.
author_facet Amare, D.
Mekuria, Wolde
Teklewold, T.
Belay, B.
Teshome, A.
Yitaferu, B.
Tessema, T.
Tegegn, B.
author_sort Amare, D.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In the Ethiopian highlands, church forests have a substantial contribution to landscape restoration, and conservation of endangered indigenous tree species and biodiversity. However, the environmental and economic benefits of church forests are declining due to a combination of economic, environmental, and cultural factors. This study was conducted in Dera district, Ethiopia, to assess the perception of local communities on church forests and investigate the willingness of local communities to pay to manage and protect church forests. We used household survey and focus group discussion to gather data. Contingent valuation method and the Heckman two-step economic model were used to analyze data. Considerable proportion of the respondents (35%) mentioned several types of benefits that can be derived from church forests including fodder, fuelwood, tree seeds and seedlings, conservation of biodiversity, and improvement of the amount and distribution of rainfall. Respondents are also aware that sustainable management of church forests is essential to maintain or enhance the ecosystem services that can be obtained from existing church forests. Protection, fencing, plantation, and expansion of church forests were among the different management options suggested by the respondents. The majority (70%) of the communities are willing to contribute cash. On average, the farmers are willing to contribute ETB 32 (i.e., US$ 1.66 [Based on the exchange rate on 12 February 2014.]). Age, education, access to extension services, and amount of benefits derived from church forests were positively and significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with the willingness to pay. Providing training on forest management, putting a strong informal institution such as bylaws, and designing ways of moving from conservation to economic benefit are essential to restore and sustain church forests.
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spelling CGSpace765122025-07-23T18:05:32Z Perception of local community and the willingness to pay to restore church forests: the case of Dera district, northwestern Ethiopia Amare, D. Mekuria, Wolde Teklewold, T. Belay, B. Teshome, A. Yitaferu, B. Tessema, T. Tegegn, B. local community forest management forest conservation biodiversity economic aspects living standards land ownership households environmental degradation stakeholders In the Ethiopian highlands, church forests have a substantial contribution to landscape restoration, and conservation of endangered indigenous tree species and biodiversity. However, the environmental and economic benefits of church forests are declining due to a combination of economic, environmental, and cultural factors. This study was conducted in Dera district, Ethiopia, to assess the perception of local communities on church forests and investigate the willingness of local communities to pay to manage and protect church forests. We used household survey and focus group discussion to gather data. Contingent valuation method and the Heckman two-step economic model were used to analyze data. Considerable proportion of the respondents (35%) mentioned several types of benefits that can be derived from church forests including fodder, fuelwood, tree seeds and seedlings, conservation of biodiversity, and improvement of the amount and distribution of rainfall. Respondents are also aware that sustainable management of church forests is essential to maintain or enhance the ecosystem services that can be obtained from existing church forests. Protection, fencing, plantation, and expansion of church forests were among the different management options suggested by the respondents. The majority (70%) of the communities are willing to contribute cash. On average, the farmers are willing to contribute ETB 32 (i.e., US$ 1.66 [Based on the exchange rate on 12 February 2014.]). Age, education, access to extension services, and amount of benefits derived from church forests were positively and significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with the willingness to pay. Providing training on forest management, putting a strong informal institution such as bylaws, and designing ways of moving from conservation to economic benefit are essential to restore and sustain church forests. 2016-07-02 2016-08-18T10:31:07Z 2016-08-18T10:31:07Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/76512 en Open Access Informa UK Limited Amare, D.; Mekuria, Wolde; Teklewold, T.; Belay, B.; Teshome, A.; Yitaferu, B.; Tessema, T.; Tegegn, B. 2016. Perception of local community and the willingness to pay to restore church forests: the case of Dera district, northwestern Ethiopia. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 15p. (Online first) doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14728028.2015.1133330
spellingShingle local community
forest management
forest conservation
biodiversity
economic aspects
living standards
land ownership
households
environmental degradation
stakeholders
Amare, D.
Mekuria, Wolde
Teklewold, T.
Belay, B.
Teshome, A.
Yitaferu, B.
Tessema, T.
Tegegn, B.
Perception of local community and the willingness to pay to restore church forests: the case of Dera district, northwestern Ethiopia
title Perception of local community and the willingness to pay to restore church forests: the case of Dera district, northwestern Ethiopia
title_full Perception of local community and the willingness to pay to restore church forests: the case of Dera district, northwestern Ethiopia
title_fullStr Perception of local community and the willingness to pay to restore church forests: the case of Dera district, northwestern Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Perception of local community and the willingness to pay to restore church forests: the case of Dera district, northwestern Ethiopia
title_short Perception of local community and the willingness to pay to restore church forests: the case of Dera district, northwestern Ethiopia
title_sort perception of local community and the willingness to pay to restore church forests the case of dera district northwestern ethiopia
topic local community
forest management
forest conservation
biodiversity
economic aspects
living standards
land ownership
households
environmental degradation
stakeholders
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/76512
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