Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the willingness of residents of ger (traditional nomadic house) areas to pay for improvements in the water supply and wastewater treatment system in terms of capital costs and operation and management (O&M) costs by contingent valuation (CV) method and payment card format. The problems in the ger area are a lack of a drainage system, the use of unimproved sanitation technology, and an unsafe water supply, in addition to the direct discharging of wastewater into pit latrines, soak pits, yards, and streets. The contribution of this study is the application of this method in a previously unstudied area to enhance the participation of ger communities that are absent in the development plan of Ulaanbaatar city. A field survey was conducted in one of the ger areas, the Damba planning unit, and 298 samples were collected from residents. Data were analyzed and compared using ordinary least squares (OLS) and Tobit regression models. Model results showed that the average total willingness to pay for the water supply and wastewater treatment facility installation was 1000 thousand Mongolian tugrik (MNT), and the average total willingness to pay for the operation and management costs was a maximum of 3000 MNT per month. The important factors affecting the residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for installation were the housing type, current monthly payment for water supply, income level, and education, in order of significance. People living in their own detached house and educated greater than high school were more willing to pay for the installation of water supply and wastewater treatment facilities. Those who were paying higher for their monthly water supply were more willing to pay for the installation cost. With respect to the WTP for O&M cost, the WTP was associated with the family size, income level, housing, time for water access, and education, in order of significance. Families a larger number of members were more willing to pay, and low-income people were less willing to pay for O&M. Education showed a positive influence on the WTP for O&M. Water access time also affected the WTP of those who could not access water within 30 min, as they indicated low WTP values.
Highlights
Access to safe water, sanitation, and sound management of freshwater ecosystems are essential to human health and to environmental sustainability and economic prosperity
To determine which factors affected individual’s willingness to pay (WTP) for water supply and wastewater treatment and by how much, the results relied on the ordinary least squares (OLS) and Tobit analysis
The results indicated that the housing, household income, education, and current monthly payment for water supply had significant impacts on WTP for installation in order of importance based on the OLS result, whereas the housing, current monthly payment, education, and household income were significant in that order of importance from the Tobit analysis
Summary
Sanitation, and sound management of freshwater ecosystems are essential to human health and to environmental sustainability and economic prosperity. According to the UN [5], a majority of the world’s population still lacks safe sanitation, and 3 in 10 lack safe drinking water. In 2015, 71% of the global population used safely managed drinking water services (an improved water source located on premises, available when needed and free from contamination) and 17% of the population used a basic drinking water service (an improved water source not more than 30 min away). On the basis of estimates from 84 countries in 2015 [5], 39% of the global population used safely managed sanitation services (basic facilities safely disposing of human waste) and an additional 29% of the population utilized a basic sanitation service (an improved facility that is not shared). In 2015, 892 million people continued to practice open defecation [4]
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