| Summary: | The benefits of recreational forests are not only for tourists, but also for
households and residents living in the surroundings of the forests. Such benefits include
supporting services, provisioning services, regulating services, and cultural services. Very
limited studies have determined the value allotted by residents to a recreational forest,
which in turn would result in incomplete decision-making processes concerning forest
conservation. The aim of this study is to determine households’ willingness to donate
for the conservation and management of the Ayer Keroh Recreational Forest (AKRF) in
Melaka. This study involved 300 households that were situated adjacent to the park. A
total of 300 households were equally selected using stratified and systematic sampling
in seven (7) small villages in Ayer Keroh. The findings from a Probit regression analysis
revealed that the idea of enhancing conservation efforts, age, and income had a significant
relationship with the willingness to donate. An estimation of the willingness to donate
using the Double-Bound CVM amounted to RM17.74 per household per annum. The
finding is important in order to understand the value allotted by the residents to the forest
while, nevertheless, providing policy-relevant information for forest management and
conservation purposes of a recreational forest.
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