Local communities’ willingness to pay for sustainable forest management in Ghana

Abstract

New policies and interventions for forest management are important because preferences of stakeholders and the state of forests continually change. To achieve sustainable forest management there is the need for information and guidelines that help decision-makers understand the economic value of the forests to local communities as these values influence how they respond and support policies and interventions. Willingness to pay (WTP) is a measure of preference that provide information to guide policy development. This study, using the contingent valuation method, estimated the willingness to pay of 300 respondents from 10 communities around Subri Forest Reserve in the Western Region of Ghana. The results show that residents of local communities around the Reserve are willing to pay for forest interventions that ensure sustainable management. The mean monthly WTP per respondent was estimated to be between GHc 2.22 and 2.26 (1.59 – 1.61 US$, 2009 rate). Older and higher income earning respondents were willing to pay higher amount than younger and lower income earning respondents. The finding indicates that local communities around reserves are likely to support forest management initiatives that promote sustainable use of the forest resources in the reserve.