Integrating Economic Value of Environmental Services and Carbon Stock: A Case Study from Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park

Abstract

As a conservation area, national parks play essential roles in environmental services provision and have the potential to support the REDD+ program. This study aims to estimate appropriate incentives for national parks based on carbon units by integrating the economic value of environmental services and carbon stock provided by the lowland dry forest ecosystem in Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park (BNWNP) consisted of North Sulawesi and Gorontalo areas. Carbon stock was estimated by establishing sample plots, including five carbon pools. While the economic valuation of environmental services includes biodiversity using the market approach, ecotourism using the zonal travel cost method, and water service using simulation water regulation services method and market approach. The total ecosystem carbon stock in BNWNP is estimated at 73.67 Mton. Meanwhile, the estimation of the economic value of environmental services is about IDR 70.57 trillion. Based on these results, the appropriate carbon values are IDR 683,308 and IDR 1,304,238 per ton carbon for the lowland dry forest ecosystem in Gorontalo and North Sulawesi areas. This result indicates that given its essential environmental services, the incentive for protecting national parks may exceed the carbon value used in result-based payment scheme in REDD+ initiatives that have been implemented.