Estimation of preservation value of groundwater resources from the villagers' perspective in Alashtar Watershed, Iran

Groundwater resources management is one of the most important issues of natural resources management. Lack of proper management of these resources has caused serious problems such as land subsidence, aquifer salinity and the annihilation of wetlands. With population growth, has increased demand groundwater and led to water scarcity in many parts of the world including Iran. Estimating the economic value of groundwater is a fundamental step in water resources management strategies. The present study was conducted using interviews and questionnaires to estimate the average willingness to pay the population of the villagers living in Alashtar Plain. In this regard, some of the most important socio-economic variables of the studied population and their role in optimizing the management of groundwater resources have been studied. The statistical society in this research includes the population of villagers residing in the Alashtar Plain as the beneficiaries of groundwater resources in the area with a sample size of 490 was calculated by the Cochran formula. However, the average willingness to pay to protect groundwater resources for each household of the Alashtar Plain was estimated as 1,758,920 Rials per year. Results showed that the total value of groundwater protection in the Alashtar Plain is 8,913 Milion Rials per year. The protective value of one cubic meter of groundwater for the population that has stated their willingness to pay is based on a contingent valuation method of 208.647 Rials. It was also observed that the offered price variables, annual household income and level of education significantly affect willingness to pay for the respondents. Given the fact that there is no market for groundwater non-use value, the findings of this paper can be a powerful tool for decision making and water resources management for water sector managers.