Willingness to pay for mangrove conservation in Sembilang National Park, South Sumatra, Indonesia

Mangrove ecosystems in the Sembilang National Park (SNP), South Sumatra, Indonesia have been degraded due to various anthropogenic pressures. Therefore, mangrove conservation actions were required. One of these actions was estimating the conservation value of mangrove forests using the willingness to pay (WTP) approach. This approach played an important role in providing alternative finance sources through public engagement when conservation funds were limited. This study aimed to estimate the mean WTP and examine the factors influencing WTP for mangrove conservation in the SNP, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The data were collected using a contingent valuation method (CVM), especially double-bounded dichotomous choice (DBDC). Furthermore, the survey was conducted on 170 household respondents in three villages representing the zones of the Sembilang National Park and its surroundings. The mean WTP was estimated using non-parametric (the Kaplan-Meier-Turnbul (KMT) and Spearman-Karber (SK) models) and parametric statistics (binary logistic and bivariate probit model). The estimated mean WTP from the SK and KMT models were IDR 80,417 (5.42 USD) and IDR 65,417 (4.41 USD) per household per year, respectively. Meanwhile, the results of the binary logistic and bivariate probit model were IDR 60,596 (4.08 USD) and IDR 60,274 (4.06 USD) per household per year, respectively. The results of parametric estimation revealed that gender, household size, bid, and the local ecological knowledge (LEK) of respondents had a negative and statistically significant influence on their WTP responses. On the other hand, income significantly and positively affected WTP. In contrast, age, education, occupation, and awareness had no significant impact on WTP. These findings would help the policymakers regarding mangrove conservation and advise the importance of mangrove conservation in supporting the livelihoods of local people.