Exploring Farmer’s Willingness to Pay for the Protection of Ecosystem in Karnataka

摘要

In the last few decades there has been a lot of exploitation of resources and degradation in the ecosystem which results in landslides and erosion especially in Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru districts of Karnataka due to excessive human intervention. Oneof the causes for this exploitation is agro-ecotourism in the study area. The present study was conducted to determine the willingness to pay for the protection of ecosystem by farmers. We used contingent valuation method to analyse the willingness to pay. The study is based on primary data from 40 farmers. Results found that income of the household, number of family members and organizational participation were the factors affecting the willingness to pay for protection.