Ecosystem services valuation for enhancing conservation and livelihoods in a sacred landscape of the Indian Himalayas

Figures & data

Figure 1. Location of HSL

Table 1. Number of respondents and their socio-economic profile.

Sl. no	Target population	Average age (Years)	Average income* (US $)	Education (%)		Numbers of respondents
				School level**	Above school level***
1.	Residents of the core villages(CV)	43	2629	71	29	35
2.	Residents of the nearby villages(NV)	46	1938	89	11	66
3.	Outsiders(O)	48	3620	49	51	39

Note: *Conversion rate 1 US$ = 45.05 Rs.

**12 years of formal education.

***More than 12 years of formal education.

Table 2. Mean scores of ranking for direct and indirect services based on people’s perception. Values followed by different superscripts letter are significantly (p < 0.05) different.

Ecosystem services	Core villagers	Nearby villagers	Outsiders
Direct services
Fuel wood	3.83	4.00	3.67
Timber	3.71	4.00	3.90
Water	3.74	3.88	3.56
Food production	3.80	3.91	3.59
Fodder	3.60	3.88	3.59
NTFPs (Non-timber Forest product)	3.17	3.24	2.87
Mean (±SD)	3.64^a ± 0.24	3.81^a ± 0.28	3.53^a ± 0.34
Indirect Services
Religious values	3.89	3.97	3.97
Hydrological regulation	3.89	3.91	3.62
Climate regulation	3.60	3.73	3.56
Soil fertility	3.31	3.74	2.95
Watershed services	3.26	3.70	2.87
Recreation & Aesthetic values	3.17	3.06	3.21
Educational values	2.46	2.06	2.15
Mean (±SD)	3.36^a ± 0.49	3.45^a ± 0.68	3.19^a ± 0.6

Table 3. Mean (± SD) WTP for different ecosystem services of core villagers, nearby villagers and outsiders of HSL. Values followed by different superscripts letter are significantly (p < 0.05) different.

	Temple development	Direct services	Indirect services	Total WTP	Minimum WTP	Maximum WTP	% of respondents not willing to pay
	(US $/hh/yr*)						for direct and indirect services
Core villagers (n = 35)	21.3^a ± 26.83	14.11^a ± 20.19	14.4^a ± 14.3	49.8	0.55	133.2	2.8
Nearby villagers (n = 66)	1.56^b ± 1.9	0.57^b ± .51	0.57^b ± .51	2.71	0.11	11.1	3.96
Outsiders (n = 39)	16.12^a ± 29.53	12.04^a ± 17.75	11.52^a ± 17.75	39.7	0.55	110.9	1.95

Note: *Conversion rate 1 US$ = 45.05 Rs.

Table 4. WTP (Mean ± SE) for temple development, direct and indirect services with respect to age.

Age	WTP for temple development (US$)	WTP for direct services (US$)	WTP for indirect services (US$)
21–40	10.4 ± 2.7	7.8 ± 2.08	8.1 ± 2.3
41–60	12.85 ± 3.2	7.9 ± 2.01	8.09 ± 2.3
61–80	4.9 ± 1.6	3.4 ± 1.9	2.02 ± 0.9

Table 5. WTP (Mean ± SE) for temple development, direct and indirect services in relation to income.

Income (US$)	WTP for temple development (US$)	WTP for direct services (US$)	WTP for indirect services (US$)
0–2220	8.3 ± 2.1	5.03 ± 1.4	4.7 ± 1.2
2221–4440	12.6 ± 4.6	10.07 ± 3.04	11.05 ± 4.5
Above 4440	15.6 ± 4.9	10.05 ± 3.4	9.6 ± 3.06

Table 6. WTP (Mean ± SE) for temple development, direct and indirect services in relation to education.

Education level	WTP for temple development (US$)	WTP for direct services (US$)	WTP for indirect services (US$)
Education up to school level	7.7 ± 1.8	4.7 ± 1.3	4.9 ± 1.6
Education with above school level	18.7 ± 4.8	13.6 ± 2.9	12.7 ± 2.9

Table

	Un-standardized coefficients		Standardized coefficients
	B	Std. error	Beta	t	Sig.
(Constant)	16.931	7.432		2.278	.024
X1: Age (21–40 yrs)	.686	5.962	.015	.115	.909
X2: Age (41–60 yrs)	6.733	5.551	.152	1.213	.227
Age (>60 yrs)*	0.0*
X3: Income (0–2220 US$)	−3.117	6.154	−.066	−.506	.613
X4: Income (2221–4440 US$)	3.251	6.957	.059	.467	.641
Income (>440 US$)*	0.0*
X5: Education (up to school level)	−11.546	4.730	−.232	−2.441	.016
Education (above school level)*	0.0*

Note: ^aDependent variable: WTP for temple development (US$).

Adjusted R square - .050.

F – stat - 2.472.

Total observations – 140.

*Reference category of age, income and education.

Table

	Unstandardized coefficients		Standardized coefficients
	B	Std. error	Beta	t	Sig.
(Constant)	12.424	5.017		2.476	.015
X1: Age (21–40 yrs)	−.158	4.025	−.005	−.039	.969
X2: Age (41–60 yrs)	2.711	3.747	.091	.723	.471
Age (>60 yrs)*	0.0*
X3: Income (0–2220 US$)	−.499	4.155	−.016	−.120	.905
X4: Income (2221–4440 US$)	3.312	4.696	.089	.705	.482
Income (>440 US$)*	0.0*
X5: Education (up to school level)	−9.467	3.193	−.281	−2.965	.004
Education (above school level)*	0.0*

Note: ^aDependent variable: WTP for direct services (US$).

Adjusted R square - .054.

F – stat - 2.601.

Total observations – 140.

*Reference category of age, income and education.

Table

	Unstandardized coefficients		Standardized coefficients
	B	Std. error	Beta	t	Sig.
(Constant)	8.620	5.636		1.530	.128
X1: Age (21–40 yrs)	2.696	4.520	.078	.596	.552
X2: Age (41–60 yrs)	4.636	4.209	.140	1.101	.273
Age (> 60 yrs)*	0.0*
X3: Income (0–2220 US$)	.555	4.666	.016	.119	.905
X4: Income (2221–4440 US$)	3.229	5.275	.078	.612	.541
Income (> 440 US$)*	0.0*
X5: Education (up to school level)	−8.014	3.586	−.216	−2.235	.027
Education (above school level)*	0.0*

Note: ^aDependent variable: WTP for indirect services (US$).

Adjusted R square – 0.022.

F – stat – 1.626.

Total observations – 140.

*Reference category of age, income and education.