Public perceptions and willingness to pay for cultural ecosystem services from urban forests

Abstract

Urban forests provide diverse cultural ecosystem services such as leisure, aesthetic pleasure, physical and psychological benefits, and spiritual experience. As cultural ecosystem services are non-material values, limited research has measured and analyzed public perceptions of cultural ecosystem services. This talk presents a monetary valuation to assess the factors influencing public perceptions of cultural ecosystem services provided by urban forests. The presentation suggests that the willingness to pay survey results can show the relations between the valuation of cultural ecosystem services and variables including gender, income, education level, age, familiarity with forest, and willingness to pay. Moreover, it addresses that citizens' perspectives and their demands, willingness, and involvement in cultural ecosystem services can be analyzed which can be reflected in urban forest management.