Ecosystem Culture Services Evaluating: A Case Study on Willingness to Pay for Urban Green Area in Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park (CU 100 Park) has been established as urban park to serve communities as a climate change mitigator and provide recreational purposes. This study aimed to assess the willingness to pay (WTP) for maintaining the park using a contingent valuation method (CVM). 

Methodology: A total of 403 respondents with the 15-60 age groups was interviewed face to face Thailand during January to March 2020. The Chi-square analysis was applied to test the independence between variables and WTP based on RStudio program.

Main Results: The most favorite activities in the park were exercising and leisure. The average WTP values was THB 100-yr-1 person (USD 3.03) based on 71 % of respondents who agreed to pay. The most favorite activities in the park were exercising and leisure. Demographic variables including age, education, occupation, and income were highly significantly related to WTP based on χ2 test. In addition, the more frequent of visiting the park, the better chance to contribute to WTP. The results indicated that the environmental awareness and socio-economic status are important for people to willing to pay to conserve the park. 

Conclusion: Our findings could help urban planners to understand urban residents’ perceptions and enable them to offer the proper welfare benefits to communities. We recommended to an authority of the park to build a program related to environmental education in order to improve the public’s awareness.

Keywords: Economic value, urban forest, assessing monetary value, park recreation