Economic value of an environmental management plan: Case of Uluabat Lake

Abstract

Wetlands provide many important use and non-use services for humans. They have been threatened by the high population density and rapid economical development especially in developing world. There is a similar situation in Uluabat Wetland, which is an important Ramsar site of Turkey. It has been threatened by industrial activities, agricultural chemical use, excessive fishing-hunting and a dam project, which will be built on the main inflow to wetland. In this context, World Wildlife FundTurkey (WWF-Turkey) initiated a joint project to realize an "Integrated Management Plan" with all stakeholders for Uluabat Wetland. The aim of this plan was to ensure the integration between conservation and development around the wetland. In this study, Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) has been used to estimate a total economic value or benefit from such a management plan as an indicator for local authorities and all stakeholders. A sample of 126 residents was interviewed to elicit their maximum willingness to pay based on single-bounded dichotomous choice survey. The estimated values of that program are 4,848,000.00 and 8,100,000.00 USD/year based on the mean and median values respectively.