DIRECT USE VALUE AND HOUSEHOLDS’ PREFERENCES FOR WETLAND MANAGEMENT OF AGUSAN MARSH WILDLIFE SANCTUARY (AMWS) IN AGUSAN DEL SUR, PHILIPPINES

Abstract

This paper aimed to estimate the direct use value and analyze the households’ preferences for wetland management of Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary (AMWS). Primary and secondary data was used to estimate the direct use value of AMWS using the market price method. Total direct use value of AMWS is P HP 91,612,719. 50 from fisheries, agriculture, transport and tourism sectors. Agriculture accounted for 97% of its total value. Choice experiment method was used to determine the preferences for AMWS wetland management using the Logit models. Results showed that all attributes except the number of migratory birds were significant. Of most importance was biodiversity followed by research and education uses and retraining of fishermen, farmers and loggers. Each household is willing to pay P H P27.71, PhP24.13, and PhP .44 for biodiversity, research and education uses and retraining of fishermen, farmers and loggers, respectively. Consequently, the implied willingness to pay ( WTP for an ideal improved management scenario is PhP 95.84/household/year, when aggregated it amounts to PHP 12,174,503.67 for the entire Province.