Environmental valuation in developing countries: The recreational value of wildlife viewing

Abstract

Few environmental valuation studies have been carried out in developing countries. This study shows that the Travel Cost (TC) and the Contingent Valuation (CV) methods can be successfully applied to value natural resources in developing countries. These two independent methods were used to estimate the recreational value of wildlife viewing, which is a valid, but very conservative, estimate of the total economic value of the wildlife species. The annual recreational value of wildlife viewing in Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya was found to be 7.5–15 million USD. The flamingos accounted for more than 13 of the value. Recognizing that this is only one of many parks in Kenya, and that wildlife viewing is becoming an important part of the global trend of increasing ecotourism, this clearly shows that sustainable management of wildlife resources could provide a very significant and much needed revenue source for developing countries in the future. The challenge for the developing countries is to find ways to realize this economic potential, which also secures the preservation of wildlife.