Abstract
Formal institutional ecosystems management has been in existence since the creation of the Yellowstone National Park in the United States of America in 1872. Subsequently, many countries, including Zambia have evolved both legislative and policy frameworks for protecting various ecosystems. This move implied creating institutions to manage such areas accompanied by a statute to police the given area. Offenders are punished for breaking the law that protects the given resource. The results from such actions have been a growing conflict between the local communities and the ecosystem or resource management institution. In order to create harmony, ecosystems managements, in some sectors have evolved new strategies of sharing management responsibilities and benefits with local communities. This specific resource is in the wildlife sector in Zambia. The need to balance management costs and the benefits from the ecosystem services thus arises. However, in order to strike a reasonable balance, consideration should be given to adopting additional management tools for evaluating ecosystems so that one can place an economic value on any given resource. The major tool that has seen wide application in Zambia has been the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). However, methods for carrying out economic evaluation of ecosystems exist and have been developed over the years elsewhere. They include the Travel Cost Method (TCM). This method uses a surrogate market to estimate a consumer surplus and is site specific. The second common method is the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) that solicits for a respondents willingness to pay (WTP) for an improvement to an environmental good or the willingness to accept (WTA) for a loss or partial loss of an environmental good using a hypothetical market. As a tool, the CVM can also be used in calculating a cost benefit analysis for a project in a given area and there by arriving at an economic decision. The method can also be used in a failed or derelict ecosystem reclamation and restoration efforts. Any conservation effort should consider the local community needs. Key words: Contingent valuation method (CVM), travel cost method (TCM), willingness to pay (WTP), willingness to accept (WTA), environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Highlights
Ecosystems are specialized depending on the goods and services that they offer
The environmental impact assessment (EIA) does not assist one to evaluate a given ecosystem and it comes with its own costs that come as a way of sustaining the institution, that is, the investor has to pay a certain percentage of the total investment cost to ZEMA for them to carry out the assessment and give their comments and consent for the project to go ahead or not
Siachoono (1995) while carrying out a Contingent valuation method (CVM) assessment of the Administrative Management Design (ADMADE) policy in Mumbwa GMA with the local community found that the responses on willingness to pay (WTP) (44%) had lower monetary value while the responses on willingness to accept (WTA) (28%)
Summary
Ecosystems are specialized depending on the goods and services that they offer. These goods and services are not uniform and can not be found everywhere. Observations raise issues on ecosystems and suggest an invisible gradient on their value apart from discussing the available structures for sharing of benefits with concerned local communities and the public at large This discussion is not in any way based on empirical data research but is a commentary on the best practice for conservation and wise use of natural resources in Zambia given the current practice trends and how these can be harmonized. It analyses the ecosystem legal frameworks that may be contravened in the course of a particular impact This tool has not been used to determine the benefits for local communities who may be beneficiaries of returns from a natural resource in their respective areas neither is there adequate research that is usually put in place to investigate biodiversity loss from economic impacts
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