HOUSEHOLDS’ WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR REHABILITATION OF WETLANDS: THE CASE OF GUDERA WETLAND OF SEKELA WOREDA, AMHARA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Gudera wetland is accredited as a home for innumerable goods and services that have an economic value for peoples living around and outside them. However, this wetland and its benefits become highly deteriorated from time to time. As a tool, estimation of the monetary value expected from the rehabilitation intervention is vital for priority setting in the management process. Therefore, the study was initiated to analyze households’ willingness to pay for the rehabilitation of Gudera wetland. The data were collected from 237 households using a two stage random sampling procedure. In analyzing the collected data, descriptive and inferential statistics were employed. Importantly, econometric models such as, seemingly unrelated bivariate probit and double hurdle models were used to estimate mean WTP and its determinants, respectively. The finding of the study shows that majority of the respondents (80.8%) perceived as the wetland is highly degraded. Due to this fact, 87.9% of the sampled households suggested that the rehabilitation intervention is important for the benefit of present and future generations. Under the double bounded dichotomous choice elicitation format, the estimated household’s mean WTP values from the initial and follow-up bids were 70.44 and 80.64 Ethiopian Birr per year per household, respectively. Accordingly, the aggregated benefit expected from the rehabilitation of Gudera wetland ranges from 89811 to 102816 Ethiopian Birr per year for the two Kebeles. Regarding the determinants of WTP, the probability of WTP was positively affected by variables such as, farm income, participation in natural resource conservation, frequency of extension contact and trust on budget allocation. However, variables such as; land size around the wetland, distance to the wetland and credit utilization have a negative influence on the WTP decision. On the other hand, except age of the household head, variables such as, nonfarm income, total livestock owned, frequency of extension contact and training affect the amount of maximum WTP positively. Therefore, in order to implement the rehabilitation intervention effectively, the government bodies who are concerned for Gudera wetland should focus on awareness creation and strategies that can enhance households’ annual income.