Social valuation of mangroves in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

Figures & data

Figure 1. Niger Delta Region of Nigeria and location map in Nigeria.

Figure 2. The social value framework (Adapted from de Groot et al. 2006).

Figure 3. The communities surveyed in the Niger Delta.

Table 1. List of questions used to measure the social value of mangroves.

Id	Social value variables and questions used to measure them	Yes	No	I don’t know
	Therapeutic value
H1	Does the mangrove provide medicinal resources for your community?
H2	Has the medicinal resources from the mangrove in your community reduced the number of patients in the community clinic?
H3	If you had no community clinic, can the resources from the mangroves cure the common sicknesses in your community?
H4	Does the health of your community dependent on the good health of the mangrove?
	Amenity value
H5	Does the mangrove add natural beauty to your community?
H6	Does the mangrove in your community provide space for community relaxation and enjoyment?
H7	Have you learnt anything about the mangrove that you would not have learnt if the mangroves were not in your community?
H8	If the mangrove forest in your community was completely cleared, will that make your community look better?
	Heritage value
H9	Is the mangrove a very important aspect of your community’s history?
H10	Does the mangrove play any important role in your culture and tradition?
H11	Does your community view the mangrove as heritage from your forefathers?
H12	Would you like the mangrove in your community to be in existence for the future generation of the community?
	Spiritual value
H13	Does the mangrove serve as the foundation for your community’s spiritual beliefs?
H14	Does your community use materials from the mangrove for spiritual worship?
H15	Does your community perform any spiritual worship in the mangrove?
H16	Does your community attach any myth to the mangrove?
	Existence value
H17	Do you think it is the duty of the community to protect the mangrove from destruction, regardless of the cost?
H18	Does the mangrove have a right to exist, even if you do not derive any benefit from the vegetation?
H19	If you have money, are you willing to pay to protect the mangrove from destruction?
H20	Do you think it is fair to destroy the mangrove?

Table 2. Summary of the socio-economic background of survey respondents.

Variable	Buguma community	Burutu community	Kuruama community	Mean
Gender
Male (%)	67	62	51	60
Female (%)	33	38	49	40
Age group
40 years and below (%)	31	42	49	41
41 years and above (%)	69	58	51	59
Respondents average years of residence in the community (years)	35	25	26	29
Education
Primary education (%)	30	36	34	33
Secondary education (%)	47	30	34	37
Others (%)	23	34	32	30
Occupation (Extraction of mangrove resources) (%)	72	64	64	67
Average monthly income (US$)	186	117	88	130

Table 3. Results from affirmative response to questions for measuring therapeutic value.

Id	Survey questions used to measure therapeutic value	Buguma community (%) (n = 126)	Burutu community (%) (n = 150)	Kuruama community (%) (n = 60)
F1	Have you ever been treated with medicinal herbs from the mangroves in your community?	89	85	16
F2	Has the medicinal resources from the mangrove in your community reduced the number of patients in the community clinic?	65	67	6
F3	If you had no community clinic, can the resources from the mangroves cure the common sicknesses in your community?	71	67	6
F4	Does the health of members of your community depend on the proper functioning of the mangrove?	57	54	28
	Mean	71	68	14

Table 4. Results from affirmative response to questions for measuring amenity value.

Id	Survey questions used to measure amenity value	Buguma community (%) (n = 126)	Burutu community (%) (n = 150)	Kuruama community (%) (n = 60)
F5	Does the mangrove add natural beauty to your community?	71	71	78
F6	Does the mangrove in your community provide space for community relaxation and enjoyment?	72	55	60
F7	Have you learnt anything about the mangrove that you would not have learnt if the mangroves were not in your community?	70	64	62
F8	**If the mangrove forest in your community was completely cleared, will that make your community look better?	71	70	92
	Mean	71	65	73

Note: **denotes test question for alertness.

Table 5. Results from affirmative response to questions for measuring heritage value.

Id	Survey questions used to measure heritage value	Buguma community (%) (n = 126)	Burutu community (%) (n = 150)	Kuruama community (%) (n = 60)
F9	Is the mangrove a very important aspect of your community’s history?	96	91	75
F10	Does the mangrove play any important role in your culture and tradition?	98	86	75
F11	Does your community view the mangrove as heritage from your forefathers?	87	80	71
F12	Is there any historic site inside your mangrove forests?	88	89	60
	Mean	92	87	70

Table 6. Results from affirmative response to questions for measuring spiritual value.

Id	Survey questions used to measure spiritual value	Buguma community (%) (n= 126)	Burutu community (%) (n= 150)	Kuruama community (%) (n= 60)
F13	Does the mangrove serve as the foundation for your community’s spiritual beliefs?	78	60	43
F14	Does your community use materials from the mangrove for spiritual worship?	78	69	35
F15	Does your community perform any spiritual worship in the mangrove?	82	73	60
F16	Does your community attach any myth to the mangrove?	66	70	39
	Mean	76	68	44

Table 7. Results from affirmative response to questions for measuring existence value.

ID	Survey questions used to measure existence value	Buguma community (%) (n = 126)	Burutu community (%) (n = 150)	Kuruama community (%) (n = 60)
F17	Do you think it is the duty of the community to protect the mangrove from destruction regardless of the cost?	92	91	97
F18	Does the mangrove have a right to exist, even if you do not derive any benefit from the vegetation?	91	89	68
F19	If you have money, are you willing to pay to protect the mangrove from destruction?	95	88	98
F20	**Do you think it is fair to destroy the mangrove?	85	91	93
	Mean	91	90	89

Note: **denotes test question for alertness.

Boyle KJ, Bishop RC. 1987. Valuing wildlife in benefit cost analyses: a case study involving endangered species. Water Resour Res. 23:943–950.

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