Non-timber Values from Planted Forests: Recreation in Whakarewarewa Forest Research Completed

Title

Non-timber Values from Planted Forests: Recreation in Whakarewarewa Forest

Lead Author

James A. Turner , Bhubaneswor Dhakal, Richard Yao, Tim Barnard, Colin Maunder

Organisation(s)

New Zealand Forest Research Institute Ltd, Timberlands Ltd

Publication Year

2011

Publisher

New Zealand Journal of Forestry

Contacts

Richard Yao: Tel +64-7-343-5899; Fax +64-7-343-5528;

Email: richard.yao@scionresearch.com

 

Abstract

The objective of our study was to estimate the economic value that mountain bikers and walkers place on recreation in a planted forest on the fringe of Rotorua; Whakarewarewa forest. We used the travel cost method to estimate the economic value of the existing recreational use of the forest. The choice experiment method was used to elicit the economic value that users place on changing different features of the forest, such as adding more trees species and decreasing the proportion of radiata pine in the landscape. The data for the study were collected from face-to-face interviews of 709 forest users.

The median economic value of the forest under current management, estimated using the travel cost method, is $5.2 million per year from walking and $10.2 million per year from mountain biking. As estimated here, these values are the maximum amount walkers or mountain bikers visiting the forest spend travelling to the forest and the value of time visiting the forest.

 

Keywords:

Economic value, mountain biking, walking, revealed preference, stated preference, transport

How to access

For information on how to access the full text of this article, go to http://www.nzjf.org/search_result.php?s_keyword=James+A+Turner or contact your local or organisational library for assistance

Areas of Focus

Population Groups

Provision (delivery type & infrastructure)

Topics

Sport and Recreation Types

Views

1922

Added

January 19, 2012

Last Modified

January 19, 2012