Sara Kaffashi

We are willing to pay to support wetland conservation: local users' perspective

The main objective of this study is to elicit the benefits that arise from Shadegan wetland in southern Iran to the users of this ecosystem, who are impacted most significantly by degradation/conversion of this ecosystem. Hence, a choice experiment (CE) and contingent valuation method (CVM) survey of users of the Shadegan wetland were conducted to estimate the value of non-market services provided by the wetland. The benefits from high-level conservation of the wetland are estimated from CVM to be about US

Land-use planning of Minoo Island, Iran, towards sustainable land-use management

2.26 per household of users. Meanwhile, the estimated compensated surplus from CE was about US

Road Transport System in Southeast Asia; Problems and Economic Solutions

8.28. Findings of this study suggest that the high value of Shadegan wetland for user communities can help policy-makers and wetland managers adopt policies that have no further conversion benefits than conservation or risks of degradation.

Analysis of car commuters knowledge, awareness and willing to modal shift in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Land-use planning is one aspect of sustainable development that determines the integrity of socioeconomic and ecological nuance. Land evaluation is an approach to sustainable land-use planning, which predicts the capability of the land-use system. This means that a specific land area should be under specific use, considering certain factors and characteristics of the land and its location. In other words, lack of proper information on land capability and rational and irrational use of land leads to destruction of land resources. This paper discusses the findings of ecological and socioeconomic resource issues for Minoo Island and the surrounded zone. The study covers an area of about 172km2 in southwest Iran. To establish environmental unit maps, digital layer maps of the soil texture were overlapped. The study empirically established that the area has the capability to accommodate ‘levels two’ urban and industrial development. Moreover, Minoo Island is considered to have potential for conservation and ecotourism, with a 60% potentiality for dryland farming.

Economic valuation of Shadegan International Wetland, Iran: notes for conservation

In Southeast Asian countries (SEA), road transport accounts for the main energy consumption and CO2 emission. Air pollution is a major concern in densely populated cities such as Bangkok, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur. The main objective of this paper is to give insights on trends of transport development, car ownership, and CO2 emissions in Southeast Asia. This study also attempts to review the successful transportation policies around the globe and to introduce the possible instruments that can help reduce air pollution in Southeast Asian countries. Economic instruments to estimate the benefits of a cleaner environment due to new policies are introduced as well. The results of this research could help policy makers consider approaches that could internalize external costs of transportation and maximize the societal welfare.

Economic valuation and conservation: Do people vote for better preservation of Shadegan International Wetland?

The main objective of present study is to evaluate private vehicle commuters’ knowledge and concern about health and environmental impact of transportation related air pollution in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and interviewing 450 car commuters in five main areas of Klang Valley. The Results indicated that majority of respondents (58%) have knowledge about deteriorating effect of transport on society’s health and welfare. While, only 36% of them were concern about the transport related environmental problems. This study suggest that government intervention through increasing toll, parking fee and introducing congestion fee together with providing more efficient public transport can reduce more than half of travels by car.