Assessing the recreational value of Dareh Si Castle Park in Arasbaran forests using Contingent Valuation Method (CVM)

Dareh Si is a forested valley located 3 km from southwest of Kalaybar county within the Arasbaran forests in the north of East Azerbayijan Province. High Biodiversity and ecological conditions that generally govern Arasbaran area had turned those forests to a unique biogeographic area of Iran. In this study, the recreational value of the Dareh Si Castle Park (as the minimum recreational value of Arasbaran forests) was estimated using Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). Questionnaires were used to collect the required information. Descriptive statistics of variables were introduced, followed by providing results of LOGIT models and expected WTP values. Analytical results indicated that for each visit to the park the visitors would like to pay 3908 IRR. Annually, 275000 individuals visit the park, which results in the estimated recreational value of 1.074 billion IRR when multiplied by the WTP (The base year was 2007). This was updated based on Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) announced by Central Bank of Islamic Republic of Iran in 2014, accounting for 4.14 billion IRR.