Estimating the amenity value of Irish woodlands.

  • Stephen Hynes Rural Economy Research Centre, Teagasc, Athenry, Co. Galway, Ireland.
  • Brian Cahill Department of Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway. Ireland.
  • Emma Dillon Rural Economy Research Centre, Teagasc, Athenry, Co. Galway, Ireland.
Keywords: Recreation, urban woodland, travel cost model, negative binomial distribution.

Abstract

During the last decade, as the population of Ireland has become increasingly urbanised, there has been an increase in demand for outdoor recreational pursuits. Increased affluence, mobility and changing values have also brought new demands with respect to landscape, conservation, heritage and urban land use. Forests in Ireland are seen by the general public as potential destinations to fulfil their outdoor recreation requirements. We estimate an urban fringe forest recreation demand function and use it to investigate the value of urban woodland space, in terms of public-good provision to local residents. Through the estimation of a travel cost model, the study derives the mean willingness to pay of the average outdoors enthusiast using two urban fringe forests in Co. Galway as €12.33, of which the travel cost comprised €7.36, with the balance the consumer surplus of €4.97. The results indicate a high value of urban woodland in Ireland from a recreational perspective.
Published
2007-11-01
How to Cite
Hynes, S., Cahill, B. and Dillon, E. (2007) “Estimating the amenity value of Irish woodlands.”, Irish Forestry. Available at: https://journal.societyofirishforesters.ie/index.php/forestry/article/view/9994 (Accessed: 29March2024).
Section
Articles