Economic valuation of water services related to protected forest management: a case of Bukit Batabuh in the RIMBA corridor, Central Sumatra, Indonesia

Barano Siswa Sulistyawan,Mia Amalia,Marija Bockarjova,Budy P Resosudarmo,Rene W Verburg,Pita Verweij

doi:10.1007/s10668-021-01826-x

Abstract

The context of daily household needs of rural communities, particularly the needs for water, often remains insufficiently considered in tropical forest management as it is facing an important decision-making trade-off between profit and preservation. We conducted a choice experiment study to elicit preferences of the rural community members in Central Sumatra, Indonesia, who perpetually depend on the ecosystem services of tropical forests. To inform a spatial planning policy for the protected forest, we focus on the valuation of water services in the protected forest area of Bukit Batabuh where the surrounding communities living rely on upstream watershed and water storage management. We find that those communities have a strict preference for improving forest water provisioning services, compared to the current situation (status quo), with the estimated aggregate benefit of non-commercial use ranging between USD 2.71 million and USD 2.47 million per year for each of the options of (1) maintaining and enhancing water storage, (2) rehabilitating forest in the upper watershed or (3) restoring the riparian forest. This study also identifies preference attributes, such as water storage capacity, water scarcity and water turbidity which can be used in other tropical landscape contexts in Indonesia and beyond.

Highlights

The United Nations have prioritised the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of forests, such as the provisioning of clean water, non-timber forest products, and other ecosystem services, materialised in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), i.e. SDG 6 (Improve Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 15 (Life on Land)
This study uses a stated preference framework to value water services derived from forests, which supports land use allocation in spatial planning policy for the forestry sector in Indonesia
Monetisation of the values of ecosystem services from the forest as performed in this study becomes necessary. It provides meaningful insights into the value of non-commercial benefits of forest protection to local communities whose livelihoods depend on the forest ecosystem services at the landscape scale

Summary

Introduction

The United Nations have prioritised the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of forests, such as the provisioning of clean water, non-timber forest products, and other ecosystem services, materialised in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), i.e. SDG 6 (Improve Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 15 (Life on Land). One of the many ecosystem services provided by forests is water provisioning, which contributes to the livelihoods of surrounding communities (Rideout et al, 2014) Such non-commercial benefits derived from natural forests are crucial to local communities. Monetising the benefits of the non-commercial uses of forest ecosystem services such as water provisioning, food for subsistence, and other non-timber forest products provides an essential information for the decision-making process. In this case, by accounting for the total value of forest ecosystem services, including the non-commercial benefits, better decision making on sustainable use and conservation can be achieved (Kragt, 2013; Ojea et al, 2012)

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Conclusion