Estimating the Recreational Value of Miankaleh Wetland Using Travel Cost Method

Wetlands are unique complicated and vital biomes which have undergone greatest destructions due to human's misconception that wetlands are unusable lands. Accordingly, economic valuation of wetlands is one of the most important solutions to protect this valuable aquatic resource.We determined the recreational value of Miankaleh Wetland through travel-cost method. This method is based on the estimation of the relationship between the number of visitors, the distance from their residential area to the resort and the average cost of accessing the wetland. Miankaleh Wetland is a protected area and this research aims to estimate the recreational value of that area, the wharves of Gaz and Torkman harbors were selected as the recreational area and were marked as the center of the circle on the map. Then, using available maps, statistics and information, the area and resident population of each region was calculated. In the next step, data obtained through field study questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS. Next, the chart which showed the relation between the resort's visitors' travel cost and quantity was drawn with regard to available data. Afterwards, the new visitor-wetland ratio was calculated after taking different inputs into account and adding them to the total access cost; later, the real demand chart of the wetland was drawn. Finally, the daily recreational value of the wetland was calculated to be 7343.4 dollars per day through calculating the sub-chart level.

Estimating the Recreational Value of Miankaleh Wetland Using Travel Cost Method Keywords:

Miankale Wetland , Economic valuation , Travel-cost method , Recreational value