African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 6(30), pp. 6407-6411, 12 December, 2011
Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR
DOI: 10.5897/AJAR11.072
ISSN 1991-637X ©2011 Academic Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Estimated value of forest conservation in Iran: A case
study of Fars Province
S. N. Mousavi* and S. M. R. Akbari
Department of Agricultural Economics, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran.
Accepted 1 June, 2011
The aim of this study is to estimate the value of forest conservation through Fars rate and review
conditional factors. For this purpose, the required information and data were collected from the citizens
and visitors of Fars province's forests through a questionnaire. The information in the questionnaire
includes personal information in four areas and social status like economic subjects, attitude or caprice
questions, and the amount of their information about forests. Factors used to estimate the willingness
to pay function include gender, education, marital status and age response of providers, income, family
size, orientation to environmental biology, and distance to forest or park.
Key words: Willingness to pay, contingent valuation method, forest, Fars province.
INTRODUCTION
The total forest area of Iran is 12.4 million ha, and is
among the 56 countries that have the largest forest area
worldwide. It is equal to 0.2 ha per person, while the
global amount is equal to 8 0 / ha. This shows poverty
and a severe shortage in Iran in this field, but also with
low annual per capita. Unfortunately, about 200,000 ha of
forests are destroyed (Iran Statistic, 2007).
The forest area of Fars province is 1250000 ha, which
is inappropriate because of the extent and distribution of
existing forests relative to the lack of green spaces in the
province. This is quite evident in terms of public
recreational needs in many areas of the province's
population and it causes fatigue with air pollution in an
environment. As a result, non-urban green spaces such
as parks and forests can partially solve the problems
caused by this phenomenon for the health situation of the
community. This can help in the beautification of the
environment since the proper use of natural resources
was provided by a regional mall, which also provided
facilities that were suitable for recreational needs in the
present and future users. As such, uniformity is seen in
the urban life of individuals. In addition, reducing crime in
social and economic research can be justified
(Organization of forests, 2003). Environmental projects,
*Corresponding author. E-mail: mousavi_sn@yahoo.com.
development of green space, creation of external
recreational centers and leisure time for citizens in urban
and industrial areas is important. Projects that create
mental freshness effect for welfare needs of the urban
population and urban people should be mentioned
(Kashmir, 2009).
External services were used to estimate monetary
value in the management of natural systems, and it was
observed that human integration was effective. The
retrieved level of valuation studies led to realization of
data and ecosystem structure, and the function of the
diverse and complex role in the protection of human
welfare and development was sustainable. Economic
valuation can be almost positive to make better
environmental policies to intervene. Today, the need for
understanding and entering values in environmental
investments, development projects, industrial and related
decisions is quite sensible (Organization of forests,
2003).
The effort required for estimating the monetary value of
ecosystem services plays the role of double fusion in the
management of human and natural systems. Lack of
studies caused “Rate Access” to the information related
to the structure and function of ecosystems and their
complex and diverse role in supporting human welfare in
the macro ecosystems. Rate ecosystem can create and
improve human welfare and development indicators if
participation is stable. Also, it can create and improve