Conservation implications of contingent valuation of critically endangered white-rumped vulture Gyps bengalensis in South Asia

Abstract

We randomly selected 103 households and conducted a face-to-face interview in one of the Important Bird Areas of Nepal during the summer of 2004. We used referendum-type questions to elicit willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the conservation of the critically endangered White-rumped vulture, Gyps bengalensis. The Logit Regression Model was used to predict variables that influence WTP. The mean and median WTP per household were NRs 115.2 and NRs 119.9, respectively. The estimated aggregate benefits of vulture conservation at local, district and national levels were NRs 125,994, NRs 5,989,882 and NRs 510,117,491, respectively. We also conducted benefit-cost analysis of two vulture conservation strategies: habitat protection and captive breeding. At a local level, the benefit-cost ratio of habitat protection was 0.35 while the ratios at district and national levels were much higher. Captive breeding at the national level cost more but remained economically viable. The results indicated that the economic burden of vulture conservation may not lie only in the local population; as benefits accrue to users beyond the local population, so must costs in order for conservation programmes to be economically viable. Based on our policy analysis, we conclude that support at national and international level is critical for conserving biodiversity at local levels.