FINANCING MANGROVE REHABILITATION: INSIGHTS FROM A CONTINGENT VALUATION STUDY IN BAROY, LANAO DEL NORTE

There were about 450,000 hectares of mangroves in the Philippines in the early 1900s which declined to 311,400 hectares in 2020 due to continued pressures from human-caused degradations such as illegal logging and conversion to fish and shrimp ponds in which rehabilitation is needed. This study, therefore, determined the factors that influence the resident’s Willingness to Pay for mangrove rehabilitation in Barangay Raw-an Point, Baroy, Lanao del Norte, Philippines. Using the single-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method, the willingness to pay of the local community for mangrove rehabilitation was assessed. A total of 200 households were involved in the survey. Focus Group Discussion was utilized in obtaining the bid amounts used in the survey questionnaire. The results show that 84% of the 200 households expressed willingness to pay for the mangrove rehabilitation project. Furthermore, the mean willingness to pay was computed at PHP 139.00 (2.40 USD) per household per month, equivalent to Php 665,524.00 (11,502 USD) per year for the total number of households in Barangay. The findings of the logistic regression analysis revealed that the bid amount, knowledge, and perception on both the economic importance and the ecological services provided by mangroves affect the willingness to pay on the respondents