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
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
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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