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Using choice experience to estimate the values of community based natural resource management in Cambodia
Dissertation Abstract:
Community-based natural resources management is a potential development option for Cambodia to address problems of rural poverty and environmental conservation. In Cambodia, there has been increasing pressure on natural resources in recent years, with intensifying conflicts over land conversion, and overexploitation of natural resources. Both ecotourism and non-timber forest products (rattan and bamboo) play a key role in rural poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation in Cambodia.
The first survey was carried out with 111 domestic and 105 foreign tourists who visited Senmonorom and Bousra Waterfall in Mondulkiri Province. This study aimed to establish tourist profiles of Modulkiri Province, to assess ecotourism potential sites in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, and to estimate willingness-to- pay of tourists in order to assess ecotourism development in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary. The second survey was conducted with 216 local communities who were ecotourism income-dependent. Its main objective was to establish the marginal utility of each attribute for Sustainable Ecotourism Management. It was also used to estimate the payment of each activity for Sustainable Dolphin Ecotourism Management. For the next research, 324 families who were forest-dependent were interviewed. The objective of this research was to establish the marginal utility of each attribute for Sustainable Rattan Management, it was also used to estimate the payment of each activity for sustainable management and productions. For the final study, 287 forest- dependent families were interviewed. This research aimed to establish the marginal utility of each attribute for Sustainable Bamboo Management, and to estimate how much people are willing to pay for sustainable management.
Choice Modeling was used to analyze preferences of characteristic and behavior of tourist and local community toward livelihood development and biodiversity conservation in Cambodia. The Conditional Logit Model, as an experimental method, was used to establish the marginal utility of each attribute for ecotourism development and management and sustainable rattan and bamboo productions. It was also used to estimate the payment of each activity for improving ecotourism development and management and sustainable rattan and bamboo productions. The survey data were analyzed using Conditional Multinomial Logit Models using LIMDEP software.
Most of the tourists appreciated and were willing to pay for the experience, with the total of 88 percent, while 94 percent of local communities were also happy to contribute their income through local community revolving fund for managing ecotourism activities in their communities. Each activity has great potential to draw tourists who were appreciative of the nature-based experience. Each attribute was found to be statistically significant, and should be helping policy makers to see the appreciation of local people in using and managing their resources better, thus, the government and other stakeholders can use these for better management of ecotourism, for the benefit of species conservation and poverty alleviation in Cambodia.
The majority of respondents expressed that sustainable rattan and bamboo production was strongly connected to biodiversity conservation and livelihood development. Both non-farmers and farmers aged below 30 years preferred planting trees or rattan, and participated in forest patrolling for reducing illegal activities in their communities, while the majority of farmers aged between 31 and 50 years advised about protection and harvest for the benefit of the younger generation and to generate more income sustainability for poorer families. Moreover, education and forest conservation were found to have significant positive influences, based on monthly income from selling rattan and total income of their households. Thus, in managerial terms, several implications for the planning and developing of biodiversity conservation can be drawn from the results obtained in this study. It was observed that local residents express strong support for sustainable rattan and bamboo production, and thus they will continue to participate in these activities. The case studies provide policy makers with a range of useful information concerning the attitudes and perceptions of local residents and toward sustainable forest management and species conservation in the communities, which can be used for maintaining biodiversity conservation in this area.