Preferences for a payment for ecosystem services program to control forest fires in Burkina Faso: A choice experiment

Abstract

The successful implementation of a payments for ecosystem services (PES) program depends on a mix of incentives, including nonmonetary incentives. This study investigates local households' willingness to enroll in a PES program that controls forest fires in the Nazinon forest of Burkina Faso. A choice experiment is conducted with 200 household heads to elicit their preferences for the different attributes of the proposed PES program. Five attributes are considered, namely, forms of technical assistance, use restrictions, the number of monitoring trips conducted, the width of the implemented firewall, and monthly financial incentives. A mixed logit model specified in the preference space is used to examine the heterogeneity of preferences for the PES program's attributes. We provide estimates for marginal willingness-to-accept values of the considered attributes. The results indicate that the current PES reduces respondents' satisfaction and decreases the probability of their uptake. Furthermore, the results show that increasing the frequency of monitoring, the width of firewall bands, and technical assistance and improving financial incentives promote households' utility. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers to guide the future design of PES programs and encourage user support to combat forest resource degradation.