Willingness to pay for biological diversity conservation in Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea

Sammanfattning: Tropical rainforests habitat has been home for many animal and plant species, it displays vast array of visual beauty and ecological diversity. In recent years, economic hardship and rapid population growth have eroded living standards for millions of people in the developing world. To survive, many people have taken steps that are devastating the environment. This paper reports a study focused on the extent of interest people have for the natural environment and willingness to pay for biological diversity conservation in Kegsugl and Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea respectively. The study indicates that very low-income earners are very much concerned, while medium income earners are not much concerned about the natural environment. Primary School leavers in Kegsugl and High School leavers in kundiawa are very much concerned, while Post Secondary School graduates are not much concerned about the natural environment. Furthermore, it was found that income has no statistical significant effect on willingness to pay for biological diversity conservation in Kegsugl, while it has a statistical significant positive effect for Kundiawa. Literacy level has statistical significant positive effect, while sex has no effect for both Kegsugl and Kundiawa respectively.