Estimating the Economic Value of Urban Environmental Commons:

A Case of Mwanza City – Tanzania

Abstract

Well valued resources call for proper management and sustainable use by all beneficiaries. Urban environmental commons are one of the most important resources that need the attention of all stakeholders in conservation. This study intended to find out the economic value of the urban environmental commons. Specifically, the study first investigated the determinants of peoples’ Willingness to Pay for the conservation of urban environmental commons and secondly the value that people place on the conservation of urban environmental commons. To undertake this, the study used the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) which is a surrogate market method for estimating the value of environmental resources. This was enhanced by a set of cross-sectional primary data from a sample of 240 respondents out of the total population of 426,154 Mwanza City residents. The results from the study showed that the WTP for the conservation of the urban environmental commons could be determined significantly by age of the respondent, education level of the respondent, respondent’s domicile distance from the urban centre, respondent’s origin and the value that the respondents give to the existence of the resources. It was also found that the mean value that people placed on the conservation of the urban environmental commons was Tanzanian Shillings (TSH) 5,442 per person per year and the total value that was placed on conservation was TSH 2,319,130,068 per year. It was therefore concluded that firstly, the willingness to conserve the urban environmental commons is influenced by age, education level, domicile distance from the urban centre, people’s origin and the value that the respondents give to the existence of the resources.  Secondly, the economic value of the urban environmental commons is substantial and people put a substantial value on the conservation of the resources. The study recommends that, for better conservation, there is a need to prioritise the usage of conservation resources based on the significant determinants of peoples’ willingness to conserve the resources. There is also a need to devote more funds on conservation of the resources which are equivalent to the value of the resources.