Determining the Rangeland Utilizers’ Willingness to Accept in order to reduce grazing pressure in Bardeh and Karsanak Rangelands

Extra livestock than grazing capacity is one of the main effective factors on rangeland degradation. Most of the country's pastures have Extra livestock than grazing capacity, and from the past until now, the policy of dealing extra livestock by using legal punishments has not been able to completely solve this problem. Lack of attention to grazing capacity has led to the destruction of vegetation. The economic approach, the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), in return for the reduction of grazing capacity can contribute to rehabilitation of rangeland ecosystems which are getting degraded. One of the basic measures in this regard is to determine the Willingness to Accept (WTA) by the rangeland utilizers.

In this research, in the statistical society of ranchers in the rangelands of Bardeh and Kresnak regions in Ben city of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province, after classifying the ranchers, sampling and interview were performed randomly in each category. Data were collected through regular and guided interviews and questionnaires. In this section, two scenarios were analyzed. Scenario 1 Based on the questionnaire, the annual profit of each sheep and goat productive livestock was asked directly from the rancher. In the second scenario, the net income from each animal unit was determined by calculating costs and revenues, and the amount of lost pastoral income due to the elimination of one animal unit was determined. The two values ​​calculated in the scenarios were compared and the second scenario, which was more accurate as a quantitative number, was introduced to the respondents. The willingness to pay (WTA) of ranchers in return for the grazing livestock elimination was determined by conditional valuation method (CVM), using the logit function. Role of the law and Existing instructions on PES was investigated by Content analysis method.

Results showed that 71.4% of ranchers agree with PES in return for the grazing livestock reduction. The WTA in return for elimination per A productive sheep and goat are determined to be 7265 and 6462 thousand Iranian Rials per year, respectively which is lower than the net income per animal unit. The share of the pasture from the net income of a sheep and a productive goat in the permitted utilization conditions, which are set for one hundred days, is set at 1990 and 1770 thousand Rials, respectively. In the current utilization conditions, the dependence of livestock on rangeland during the year is 44.4%. The outputs of the logit model show that the WTA ranchers increase with the bid price (P = 0.00). There is significant relationship between WTA and the number of grazing livestock (P<0.01). Instructions for terms of rangeland utilization have been prepared and reviewed 5 times. The executive procedure for calculating the customary rights of ranchers has also been prepared and revised by the Cabinet of Ministers in 1391 in 3 times, in 1395, 1398 and 1399, with the approval of its executive regulations. An analysis of the content of these guidelines reveals that is not mentioned payment for ecosystem services.

 A comparison between the first and second scenarios shows that the net income of an animal unit in the first scenario is higher than the second scenario, and the reason for this difference can be related to the income effect. That is, if a higher amount is answered by ranchers in the interview, they will gain more benefits. The minimum level of Payment for Ecosystem Services per animal unit should be equal to that of the profit per animal unit. Investigation of the laws and regulations related to the rangeland shows that yet no law or regulation have been enacted in terms of the PES, in return for the elimination of grazing livestock and even it has not been mentioned in legal terms