Abstract
Economic valuation of ecosystem services is a new concept in forest management. Economic valuation provides basis for payment for ecosystem services (PES). Therefore, objective of this study was to evaluate eco-tourism and carbon stock services of the Maindam valley, District Swat, Pakistan. For the carbon stock calculation, a sample size of 155 plots of 0.1 hectare (Ha) was taken using preliminary survey at 95% confidence interval and 10% allowable error. The data for tourism services was collected from owners of all the hotels, 100 tourists and key informants of the area at 10% sampling intensity on pretested questionnaire for twenty years period (1997-2017). Results showed that Miandam valley has carbon stock worth US$ 16,306,000 while the value of eco-tourism was US$ 1,578,458 on annual basis. The results also showed that trend of tourism has drastically declined after the 9/11 incident for foreigners and locals and the situation was further deteriorated during the era of Talibanization or militancy from 2008-2011. This study recommends implementation of PES strategy at the rate of 5%, thus a total of US$ 78,922 can be earned from eco-tourism and carbon crediting in the study area annually, which could play important role in sustainable forest management.
Highlights
A wide range of services are provided by natural ecosystems (De-Groot et al, 2012) which provide a dependence for life on earth (Mooney et al, 1997)
The results for the carbon stock calculation are shown in the Table 2 using regression model M=0.0631(D2H) 0.8798. for Kail and M=0.0954 (D2H) 0.8114 for Fir, which indicates that the moist temperate forest of Miandam valley has an average of 151.575 tons of carbon per hectare with addition of 1.175 and 70 tons of shrub and soil carbon per hectare, respectively
Trees act as the highest carbon pool having 152 tonne carbon stock per ha followed by soil with 70 tonne carbon stock per ha whereas shrubs and grasses accounted for less quantity of carbon stock per ha in the study area
Summary
A wide range of services are provided by natural ecosystems (De-Groot et al, 2012) which provide a dependence for life on earth (Mooney et al, 1997). In 1997, a debatable article was published called “The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital.”. The article extrapolated the data and came up with the economic valuation of the global ecosystem as 33 trillion US dollars (De Groot et al, 2002). Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) report in 2005 identified and assessed 24 various ecosystem services (MEA, 2004). Several conservation schemes such as species banking, biodiversity offsets, watershed protection payments (Canada and Mariottoni, 2016) forest carbon markets, and mitigation banking, REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) comes under payment for ecosystem services (Blanc et al, 2018; McFarland, 2018). Valuation provide basis for payment for ecosystem services (PES) to encourage and enhance these services through the attention of policy makers (Defra, 2007)
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