Economic evaluation of recreational value of Choghakhor Wetland, using travel cost method

Outdoor recreation refers to various recreational activities، closely associated with natural environments. Wetlands are the ecosystems which provide numerous goods and services with economic values، not only to the local population living in their periphery but also to communities living outside wetland. Furthermore، wetlands provide some opportunities and amenities for human society’s well-being. Estimating the economic value of recreational opportunities attributed to wetlands seems to be crucial due to the limited resources of ecotourism activities and their role in improved human well-being. Meanwhile، this will contribute to preserving ecosystem functions of wetlands for current and future generations، in line with sustainable development goals. This study aimed to estimate the value of recreational function of Choghakhor wetland at the central part of Zagros ecooregion، located in Charmahal Bakhtiari Province in Iran. Using the Travel Cost Method (TCM)، produced some statistically reliable information. The field survey is carried out by a single questionnaire after being calibrated through a pre-test phase. The questionnaire composed of two sections and distinguished questions for TCM، is to collect the revealed preferences of Choghakhor visitors. At the early stage of the work، an explorative approach is used. According to the results، two main hypotheses have been developed to be examined during the final test. All required information on individual expenses، dedicated time for recreation inside the site، the number of visits a year by visitors، salaries، etc.، have been included in questioners for further analysis. Based on this information، an average of travel costs from each visitor is estimated and then applied for calculating aggregated costs of travels in a year which was about 5،300،000،000 Iranian Rials in 2007. This figure indicates the estimated annual value of 468،730 Rls/ha for recreational function of Choghakhor wetland.