Estimating the conservation Value of Ardebil's Shorabil Lake

Wetland is a main natural ecosystem that has been exposed to a high amount of destruction over time. One of the reasons for the destruction of these resources is inefficient economic systems for proper valuation that has resulted in reinforcing the idea that these services are free of charge and also indiscriminate use of these resources and lead to irreparable damages. Accordingly, probably the first step in protection of these resources is offering reliable estimates of their real value to improve beneficiaries’ and stakeholders’ knowledge. This study attempted to determine willingness to pay of citizens in Ardebil province to protect the Shorabil lake using contingent valuation method (CVM) based on designing and filling the required questionnaires. In this regard, 218 questionnaires were filled in the summer of 2016 in Ardabil province and then were analyzed. The results showed that 53.21% of the respondents would pay an average 32,135 IRR per family member per year to protect the Shorabil lake. According to the results, the total protection value of Ardebil’s Shorabil Lake was estimated as 21.398 milliard IRR per year and its protection value per hectare was estimated as 125.872 million IRR per year. To achieve integrated view of the effective management for authorities, it is recommended that other aspects of Shorabil lake values including recreational, cultural etc. would be considered in similar research.