Economic Valuation of the Nature tourism Area of Pulau Redang Marine Park, Terengganu, Malaysia

Natural areas as recreational sites are increasingly recognized as important assets in conserving natural resources and generating economic growth via ecotourism development. The demand for tourism related to nature is quite substantial and is fast expanding. To cope with the increasing demand for ecotourism in Malaysia, the authorities need to provide adequate and high quality infrastructures. Decision-makers face difficulties in allocating scarce resources among competing uses. For recreational resources, it is not easy to obtain their monetary values because recreational experiences are not traded in the competitive market. Hence, with economic valuation of recreational resources that planners could rely on, more rational decisions or policies can be made for efficient management of resources. The purpose of the thesis is to estimate the values of Pulau Redang Marine Park (PRMP) in Malaysia, through users’ willingness to pay (WTP) and examine the perceptions and attributes of visitors’ satisfaction with the recreation facilities and services provided at PRMP. This study also evaluates the relationship between visitors’ characteristics and attributes of PRMP. In this study, the contingent-valuation method (CVM) was employed to estimate the economic value of conserving the marine park using the face-to-face interview technique. The WTP was elicited from a total of 308 respondents. The respondents were asked whether they would be willing to contribute a conservation fee to preserve PRMP as a recreational site. The average WTP for all respondents was estimated to range between RM10.86 and RM28.69 per visit. Using the total number of visitors to PRMP in 2008, a contribution of between RM1.6 million and RM4.3 million in aggregate was derived for the same year. In addition, there are the differences between the mean and median WTP for different models and also between foreign and local respondents. In all models, except for the log-normal model, the mean WTP values for foreign respondents are higher than the mean given by local respondents. The differences between the foreign and local WTP are larger with the mean WTP for foreign respondents being RM19.33 compared with that for local respondents of RM8.25 for the logistic model. In the log-logistic model the mean WTP for foreign respondents was RM13.12, while that for local respondents was RM10.73. For linear models, OLS and the Tobit, the mean WTP values for foreign respondents were RM12.59 and RM12.72, while the local respondents give RM7.06 and RM7.15 respectively. In recreation, visitors’ level of satisfaction with the facilities and services provided is also important in long-term ecotourism development. Most visitors to PRMP found the recreation facilities at a less satisfactory level. This is indicated by an average index of 1.55 for the recreation facilities evaluated which is below the intensity discrete value of 2.5 for positive perceptions. The visitors perceived the services provided at PRMP to be satisfactory with an average index of services of 2.77. The results also showed an overall perception index of 2.16. This means that the visitors who came and enjoyed PRMP were generally less satisfied with the recreational facilities provided. The study also showed that a total of six satisfaction attributes were significant predictors of overall satisfaction, accounting for 59 percent of the variance associated with overall satisfaction. This is a high amount of variance for a satisfaction model in the field of outdoor recreation. Of all the satisfaction attributes, efficiency of services, signs and directions/sign postings, locations of the facilities: convenience/setting, and freedom from obstruction by buildings/being in a natural place proved to be the best predictors of overall satisfaction. This shows that the management of PRMP should look at these items within specific recreation areas to ensure that they are meeting the visitors’ expectations. Perfecting these satisfaction attributes could help increase visitors’ overall experience, which could lead to repetition visits. The study also gathered information about the visitors’ perceptions, their expectations about the park and their assessments of its importance. They were asked to state their levels of satisfaction in terms of how they regard the destination by listing their own values. The majority of the respondents viewed the park as very valuable as a site for participating in recreational activities, with an average mean score of 4.00. Conservation was also important, as indicated by an average mean score of 3.83 for the conservation opportunities evaluated. The respondents agreed that PRMP should be conserved. The results are in line with the objective of establishing marine parks in Malaysia, i.e. to conserve and protect marine ecosystem and manage it for biodiversity research, educational purposes and the development of recreational and ecotourism activities that are sustainable. On their experiences while visiting the park, most of the respondents showed positive perceptions, indicated by an average mean score of more than 3.00 for the question asked. Being able to participate in the activities provided and enjoying the experiences with friends or family were the most satisfying things that they got from their trips to PRMP. This was followed by the feeling that the trips allowed them to escape from their normal routines and experience something new and different. That the trips allowed people to develop their own skills was the least important. On the visitors’ expectations of the park, most (94.8%) of the visitors regarded PRMP as a suitable site for recreation. In terms of crowdedness, the majority (87%) of the respondents said that the park was crowded and 79.9% of the respondents agreed that the park was attractive

Production, use and trade of gaharu in Peninsular Malaysia

Gaharu, known as agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood, oudh (Arabic), chen-xiang (Chinese) and jinkoh (Japanese), is the resin-impregnated deposits formed in some trees of the family Thymelaeaceae. The fragrant gaharu products are used by Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus. They are highly demanded in international market. The best grade of gaharu wood is sold as high as RM16,000 in Kuala Lumpur in October 2007. On the production side, there are about 4,100 gaharu harvesters in Peninsular Malaysia in 2007. Local harvesters, comprising Orang Asli, Malay and Thai descendants, practise responsible harvesting. However, since 1980s, with the encroachment of foreign harvesters (especially the Thai), the resources are depleting in our natural forests. Gaharu wood produced is sold to local traders. These local traders then sell the high grade gaharu to other middlemen or export them to Singapore and Middle East. The low grade wood is processed into oil in Kelantan and Terengganu before it is marketed. In some cases, the Arab traders come personally to purchase the wood and oil directly from the local middlemen. There is practically little use of gaharu by the Malaysian population. Processed oil of 12-ml is packed in small bottle and sold at about RM300, which is regarded expensive by many Malaysians. The use of gaharu products lies in the international market. While production of gaharu provides income to local harvesters and traders, it may not be a long term source of income as resources are depleting. There is international demand for gaharu products. It is recommended that the planting of gaharu-producing trees and the processing of gaharu products be encouraged and supported by government research and development. The industry is a potential income-generating activity for the country

The roles of forest resources on the socioeconomic s of peripheral communities

Forest provides a wide variety of social and economic benefits. Globally, it is estimated that over 2.4 billion people depend on forest goods and services for the food, fresh water, medicines, employment and cash income. Forest also provides ecotourism services which also able to generate income of people.These benefits made forests become fundamental to the livelihoods and well-being of people, not only for the people who live in them, but also for those living in peripheral landscapes.A socio-economic study was undertaken among peripheral communities in the Northern Region of Peninsula Malaysia; Perak, Kedah and Perlis. The present paper intends to assess the socio-economic impacts of forest resources on the livelihood of surrounding communities using data and information collected through rapid rural appraisal (RRA), focus group discussion and household survey guided by structured questionnaire. A total of 1,052 households were successfully interviewed.The study found the average monthly income per household of these communities was RM1,672, RM2,138 and RM2,278 for Perlis, Perak and Kedah respectively. Meanwhile, the percentage of dependency on forest resources as a source of income was 5.3% to 13.3% from the total income.If there is no income from forest resources the poverty level of these communities may increase up to 5%. From the findings, forest conservation strategies should pay more attention to balance the needs for conservation and socio-economic livelihood of forest peripheral communities especially at Northern Region of Peninsula Malaysia.For example, the development of ecotourism areas near peripheral communities has potential to create local business and job opportunities. Promotion of communities based ecotourism (CBE) can be created as alternative ways to increase income thus improve the livelihood of the communities

The Value of Services for Water Catchments for Kedah Permanent Forest Reserves

Kedah’s forest area for water catchments plays an important role as it serves the demand of water for the state of Kedah, Penang and Perlis intended for domestic, agricultural and industrial used. Forest plays an important role as water catchment not only providing water in term of quantity but also provides the good quality of clean water. This process called purification services. But, how to assess the important of the services based on its value, because most of ecosystem services are not monetized. Therefore, this paper aims to estimate regulating services value of Kedah’s Permanent Reserved Forest (PRF) as water catchment especially for domestic used. The information of 36 Water Treatment Plants (WTP) intakes data collected and information of forest land uses from National Forest Inventory (NFI) were used as data input for the analysis. A comparative analysis results the value of services for water purification services for Kedah’s PRF is RM49,140,171/year, approximately RM 21.93/hectare/year. Results show a significant impact to protect catchment areas within forest reserves for clean water

Impak dan persepsi ekopelancongan terhadap komuniti setempat di Lumut, Perak

Ekopelancongan merupakan produk pelancongan yang berteraskan kekayaan alam semulajadi yang semakin berkembang pesat.Destinasi ekopelancongan di berbagai ekosistem semulajadi mempunyai banyak keistimewaan dan memberi pelbagai manfaat bukan sahaja kepada pengunjung malah kepada masyarakat sekitarnya.Lumut merupakan salah satu destinasi ekopelancongan ekosistem persisiran yang popular di Negeri Perak.Selain mempunyai pantai yang menarik, ia juga merupakan tarikan pelancong untuk mendapatkan hasil-hasil laut yang segar dan yang telah diproses.Objektif kertas kerja ini adalah untuk menilai impak ekopelancongan terhadap komuniti setempat dan persepsi komuniti terhadap ekopelancongan di persekitaran pantai Lumut, Perak. Kajian melibatkan aktiviti survei komuniti di enam buah kampung Mukim Lumut.Sebelum survei komuniti dijalankan, pasukan kajian mengadakan tinjauan awal (rapid rural appraisal) ke kawasan Mukim Lumut.Borang soal selidik dibangunkan adalah berdasarkan hasil tinjauan awal dan dibahagikan kepada beberapa bahagian merangkumi status isi rumah, impak ekopelancongan dan persepsi ekopelancongan terhadap isi rumah.Hasil kajian mendapati terdapat kesan-kesan positif yang diterima oleh komuniti setempat dengan pembangunan ekopelancongan di sekitar Lumut

The Application Of Choice Experiments In The Analysis Of Visitors' Preferences For Ecotourism Facilities And Services In Redang Island Marine Park

This paper estimates the visitor’s’ preferences of ecotourism facilities and services in the Redang Island Marine Park (RIMP) by using choice experiments (CE). Personal interviews were conducted with a total of 298 visitors of RIMP. The visitors were asked to select the best of ecotourism facilities and services from a given set of alternatives. Investigation on the ecotourism facilities and services attributes were done on accessibility to RIMP, provision of interpretive trail, provision of information and extra package price. The conditional logit (CL) model was used to estimate visitors’ preferences. Results of the study showed that visitor’s preferences of facilities and services varied according to changes in attributes levels. Results of this study are important in assisting policy makers in the management and development of ecotourism facilities and services in RIMP. This study shows that choice experiments are useful tools in the investigation of visitors’ preferences for the ecotourism facilities and services in marine park

Performance Management in Tax Administration: A Holistic Model for Malaysian Tax Authorities

This paper has developed a holistic model for performance management in tax administration. To achieve this aim, the literature on performance management practice as well as performance management models were reviewed and analysed. Tax administration cannot perform efficiently and effectively without understanding performance management elements which include performance and governance evaluations. The performance management elements should also involve both internal and external stakeholders. The model in this paper is aimed at improving performance management in tax administration for Malaysian tax authorities

The Intermediatory Role of Microfinancing: Creating Sustainability and Enhancing Agripreneurship in Developing Countries

With GDP growth rate of 8.99% agriculture, contributes 24% to the Nations GDP while the entrepreneurial sector contributes 47%, improving the economic base through agri-preneurship is achievable. The study thus examines, the intermediatory role of Microfinancing, creating sustainability and enhancing agri-preneurship in developing countries through a descriptive survey, with questionnaire administered to 80 purposively selected long-time microfinance banks from 2 geo-political zones. Findings indicated that microfinance banks are closer to the grassroot, yet its financial inclusion does not embrace agriculture; very sparse microfinance presence in rural areas, and agro-policy of micro-finance banks should be all-inclusive. Persistent inflation affects the value of loan (Mean 3.1667); Relationship exists between microfinancing and customer growth with 62.3% correlation which is significant at 5% level. Equally, a positive relationship subsists between microfinancing and agri-preneurship depicting a possible link for agripreneurship Vision 2020. The study recommended that new microfinance strategies that can enhance economic growth must be seriously pursued. Efficient linkage to stakeholders within and outside the microfinance system require best practises by managers. Microfinancing targeted at rural agri-preneurship development is suggested

Communicating Organizational Strategy to Employees Using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC): Case Study of a Malaysian Company

Communicating organizational strategy to employees has been identified as one of the factors that influence success of strategy implementation in an organization. This study presents a case study of the use of BSC as a strategy communication tool in the strategy implementation process of a large Malaysian service provider. Specifically, the study explores how the BSC was used to facilitate strategy communication from the top to the lower management team, the factors affecting its effectiveness and its implication. Data was collected using interviews with 30 managers from various management levels and observations in eighteen meetings and BSC training sessions. Findings of this study show that, if applied properly, the strategy map and scorecard improve strategy communication among the different management levels. It was also found that among the factors that may influence the effectiveness of it usage are the content of the maps and scorecard and the channel of communication used to convey the information. In addition, this paper provides evidence of the application of BSC as a communication tools